Review by Sandre the Giant
The only record by Seattle’s Griefspell, ‘Enchantments of Dark Eternity’, has been released in various formats since its inital debut in 2022, but just this February it was released by China’s GoatowaRex Records on vinyl. A perfect opportunity then, to jump into this monochromatic black metal traditionalism. The vinyl cover art has definitely been given an upgrade, and I love the sinister nature of it.
If it is ferocious, Mayhem/Burzum/Darkthrone-esque blackness you are looking for, then look no further than the scalding riffs of ‘Beyond the Tainted Heath’, or the shrieking barrage of ‘Blood Bath’. This is pure, unadulterated hatred in musical form, caustic and bleak but intense to the extreme. Everything that black metal is built on, those foundational pillars, is all here in a tight, 31 minute package. You do get some of that slower, more atmospheric dread as well, particularly in ‘Daylight Slumber’, and a touch of acoustic variety in ‘Forest Fable’ which adds a nice layer of melancholy, but the pure black metal they conjure up throughout is what these atmospheric flourishes are truly reliant on. Judicious keyboard touches assist the grimness, and you are never allowed to assume the oppressiveness will lift and free you from the blackness.
Much of modern black metal either tries to buck trends or reaffirm old school traditionalist theory. Griefspell lean towards the latter, but ‘Enchantments of Dark Eternity’ is absorbed in a mission of revitalisation. This is a record that burns with a fervent hope that the corpsepaint, the spikes, the odes to Satan and winter can return to prominence amongst the northern hordes. A record written for cold forests and icy winds. Defiantly and triumphantly old school.
https://griefspell.bandcamp.com/album/enchantments-of-dark-eternity
https://goatowarex666.bigcartel.com/
The Killchain 