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Grimlord: Blood Runneth Over
Melodic Rock
Rating: 3.5/5.0

www.grimlord.eu
Self-financed, Independent Release
www.myspace.com/grimlordbreslau

Grimlord is a young metal band from Wroclaw, Poland. Their version of metal combines the basics of heavy, thrash and power metal. 'Blood Runneth Over' is a totally self-financed work recorded in the Summer of 2007. It's been getting some European recognition with some promising results.

Mostly 'Blood Runneth Over' is a good first effort by Grimlord, a three piece band. Although I found the production and mix more than a little muddy and muffled (this could be because I received a home-burned copy from the band), there's some better than average music on this work. The album begins with an unexpected and pleasing instrumental, 'March Of The Martyrs.' What follows is some raw, enthusiastic metal with some, unfortunate, dull and uninspiring moments. The title track is a good number with some strong guitar work and exceptional drumming. Then there is a song like 'Grey Eminence' which is dark and slow almost mimicking stoner metal, hardly inspiring. But Grimlord recovers with more melodic traditional metal tracks like 'Crawler' and 'Bitch & The Swindler.' Besides the opening song, the best song the album is 'Compensation Of Fault,' which includes some rather humorous clips from Arnold Schwarzenegger. As for the other songs, I feel seasoned metal fans will struggle to listen and afford Grimlord some recognition. This would be unfortunate because this crew certainly has the fire and talent to succeed.

As I noted earlier, this is a fine start from this young metal trio. To succeed in the future, they'll have to work on the whole recording process; the production is simply nasty. One important feature that must be overcome is Barth La Picard's clean but often grueling vocals. Mr. Picard is a fine guitarist, but the band would do well to find a full-time lead singer and let Picard focus on his fret work.

With the aforementioned caveats, I can recommend Grimlord's 'Blood Runneth Over' simply for their passion and effort to deliver their music. And it's good to support young bands who have determination and talent. There is a whole lot of room for improvement here, but I encourage you to give Grimlord a listen.
   - Craig Hartranft

In Short

Grimlord is a young metal trio from Wroclaw, Poland who have skill, enthusiasm, and a believable certain determination in their music. For a first work, 'Blood Runneth Over' is generally good. It's hindered by poor production, and they should hire a lead singer to allow their guitarist to assume full fret duties. Grimlord has promise.

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