Asgrauw - Gronspech

18/09/2018 17:40

Asgrauw - Gronspech

 

The newest release of the Dutch band Asgrauw is one of the most anticipated Dutch black metal releases of 2018 for me personally. The band has already proven its worth and is one of the best bands in the current Dutch (black) metal scene. With the 2014 release ‘Schijngestalten’ and the 2016 release ‘Krater’, Asgrauw has made their mark as one of the better releases of each year. This is one of the reason why I was looking forward to ‘Gronspech’.

 

The album name is a tribute to the town where they come from. Groesbeek is a small town in Gelderland and ‘Gronspech’ is the oldest recorded name of the town which is a very cool idea for an album name.

 

If you have listened to the previous records of Asgrauw, you will hear the typical blast beats but there are a lot of punk-style black metal riffs. The riffs accomplied with the vocals are balanced very well. During the first 15 minutes, there aren’t that many pace changing riffs but the song ‘Duu.velsbé.rreg’ has got some very headbangable memorable riffs.

 

Throughout the album, you will encounter some plesant surprises like spoken words and ambient elements mixed within the black metal chaos Asgrauw produces. It is all well placed and well produced especially for a raw black metal album. Not to be confused with raw black metal what sounds like it has been recorded through a Nokia 3310.

 

No, Asgrauw has taken this to an acceptable level of raw black metal production which is very good in my opinion. However, the vocals have been a grower for me each album Asgrauw releases. I do not know why but as time goes, the vocals will grow on me which makes every album more awesome.

 

‘Gronspech’ has the elements to become a popular album in The Netherlands if more and more people are going to listen to this. However i doubt that ‘Gronspech’ will get many international attention. The album isn’t unique enough to get major recognition of the outside press. However, ‘Schijngestalten’ has been released and sold out in America which is a big hats-off to Asgrauw and the label.

 

I really hope Asgrauw will get the recognition they deserve and they need to be booked more in the surrounding countries like Germany and France. Why those two? Because they have a thing for punk-style black metal and that is just what Asgrauw delivers. Quality from the murky lands of Gelderland.