Grima - Frostbitten

Grima balls lmao gotem.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on November 14th, 2022) 

Back in January, I covered what was at the time Grima’s most recent release, Rotten Garden. Its lean and straightforward approach to atmospheric black metal was quite the hit for me, and it sparked a genuine interest in where the band would go from here. Lo and behold, only a year and a half after their most recent work, Frostbitten is out. Between this band and Ultar, the Sysoev brothers are definitely keeping busy in 2022 across multiple projects. As is tradition with yours truly, I am fashionably late to reviewing this project, one that I’ve been having on the backburner ever since it came out, and seeing how the winter season is fast approaching, it feels fitting to write a review now..

One thing that becomes immediately noticeable before one even starts listening to Frostbitten is its length. Contrary to Rotten Garden’s more lean and generally sub-6 minute approach to songwriting, things here are much more ambitious, with most tracks being north of the 7 minute mark. At first glance, I was concerned that Grima would go the way of bland and repetitive atmoblack and that the music would crumble under its own weight, but wouldn’t you know it, I was wrong. The songs are on average longer, but the philosophy of “atmoblack that actually gets to the point” is intact here, it’s just expanded to fit the longer compositions. The opener, “Gloomy Heart of the Coldest Land” sets the tone immediately and is a nice vertical slice of what one will be hearing throughout the album’s 49 minutes. Distorted, solemn notes give way to a chaotic and driving section that manages to layer the bayan and synths over tremolo picked and blast beats, resulting in a gradual, yet intense start. Things constantly twist and turn, with Grima throwing a new idea at the listener after getting the most out of what they’re currently showcasing, like that brief, but oh so sweet drum-focused section at the 3:20 mark, or the minimalistic lead that gradually swells into this explosive double-bass segment with a glorious ascending riff on top. They managed to condense a multitude of ideas in a single piece, while maintaining focus in having the track reach its natural conclusion, no different than what they did on their previous album.

That being said, the 2 longest tracks here don’t overshadow the music that lies between them, despite them taking up nearly 20 minutes of Frostbitten’s runtime. Songs like “Giant’s Eternal Sleep” and “Hunger God” are shorter, and are more streamlined, while still maintaining a good amount of variety within them. The former of the two features driving double-bass verses, accompanied by a dreary bayan melody on top, a Russian instrument similar to an accordion, whose existence I became privy to after my first listen. It gives the album a somewhat different chromatic flavour compared to the accordion that was used on previous releases, a subtle touch that can only be appreciated if one pays close attention. As for “Hunger God”, it lives up to its title, a slew of ravenous blast beats and furious tremolo riffing, with multiple shifts in tempo so as to not give the listener much breathing room. It’s arguably the most vicious track here, and a perfect showcase of just how good Grima are as songwriters. Their ability to condense multiple intense sections in a relatively brief runtime and maintain a cohesive flow is nothing short of astounding.

That being said, there are some areas where Frostbitten falls a little short, and the main one is the production. While the instruments themselves sound good, the mixing tends to get cluttered when a lot of things get layered on top of each other, making discerning some of the finer details more of a challenge than it should be. During some of the blast beat-based segments, things just get a little too layered, with the guitars getting overpowered by the drums, the only discernible parts being the bayan and the synths that might be used in the moment. The bass also feels a bit less present than it did in Rotten Garden, still serving the same textural role that it did previously. It’s a shame, because barring those moments, things sound great when they slow down a little and the instruments get some breathing room.

Other than that, there’s also the obligatory short instrumental “Mana”, which echoes the complaints I had with “Old Oak” off the previous record, albeit with the added bonus of feeling misplaced after “Winter Morning Tower”. What is it with these guys and putting so much effort in brief instrumentals that deserve to be turned into full-fledged songs?

On the whole, Frostbitten is yet another great release from a band that while ambitious, needs to work on figuring out how to get the most out of them. The ideas are there, and are executed flawlessly, but they’re obscured by what feels like a cluttered and oppressive production job. Grima is still one of the best bands in the modern atmospheric black metal scene, with a unique sound that anyone interested in the style owes it to themselves to listen to.

Highlights: Gloomy Heart of the Coldest Land, Giant’s Eternal Sleep, Hunger God

Rating: 87%