Swedish trio Grand Magus are a long, long way from where they started out 12 years ago. The doom of their earliest demos and 2001 self-titled debut is long gone, as over time and the course of their four subsequent albums, vocalist/guitarist Janne “JB” Christofferson, bassist Fox Skinner (bonus points for awesome name) and drummer Sebastian “Seb” Sippola – who came aboard between 2005’s Wolf’s Return and 2008’s Iron Will – have evolved into a genuine beast of epic metal. Not power metal, at least not in terms of the dramatic elements that genre designation carries with it, but still definitively epic, taking cues from Judas Priest and the best of the British New Wave and blending lyrical themes from Scandinavian paganism to concoct a sound almost completely their own. On their latest and fifth offering, Hammer of the North (released physically in Europe last year on Roadrunner and in the US digitally via the same label at the end of January), Grand Magus make yet another step in their charted progression. The US version of the album collects 11 tracks to cover 52:32, and though it’s not without its filler, the level of songwriting across the board is stellar and the performances throughout harness the hair-raising power of heavy metal as only the greatest of practitioners can.

The production, it’s worth noting, is unrepentantly modern. Though the underground metal climate in the US has largely turned against digital recording methods – in ideology if not always in practice – in Europe, Grand Magus has genuine mainstream viability, and as such it makes sense for Hammer of the North to be produced as it is. The album begins with one of its several memorable tracks, “I, The Jury,” on which the trio starts in barn-burning fashion. Sippola proves as he did on Iron Will that he’s a fantastic drummer, changing at a moment’s notice into half-time grooves and keeping the footwork both tasteful and exciting (even if his drums are probably triggered), and Christofferson elicits a solo from the ether that enhances the song, rather than coming off as forced. “Hammer of the North,” which follows, brings out some of the heathen lyricism and anti-Christian thematics – “We trample the cross” – but these aren’t overdone either, and it’s clear that Hammer of the North is going to be a classy affair throughout. Grand Magus, in fashion true to the first part of their name, have set a stately tone, and are firmly in command of their sound. The quiet outro of the title-track and chanting lead-in for “Black Sails” – an understated Viking ode that only gets better with volume – makes for a smooth transition, but make no mistake, Hammer of the North is very much song-based. It’s not like Grand Magus sat down and wrote it all as one piece, and ultimately it’s because of the strength of its individual parts that the whole stands out.

That’s not to say it carries a feel like it was written for radio hits or something like that. Even in the more metal-friendly European musical climate, I don’t know how huge this stuff is in terms of sales – at least as compares to the more swoopy-haired, breakdown-laden “hardcore” that seems to have taken over the universe in the last several years – but Grand Magus’ natural strength is undoubtedly in writing traditional verse/chorus structures. Both “Black Sails” and “Mountains be My Throne” are straightforward and unpretentious, but filled with a kind of stylistic grandeur that sets them apart from other works of classic metal. Credit for this has to go to Christofferson, who is probably one of the best working vocalists in heavy metal today. Backed by Skinner, the singing on Hammer of the North is the source of some of its greatest appeal, and even on the head-down forward-drive of “Northern Star,” they find room for a fantastic chorus. There’s layering throughout in the voices, as with the guitar – the solo of “Northern Star” being a rare misstep both in terms of production and execution – but they’re not quite at Blind Guardian levels yet. Again, classy. All of Hammer of the North has a metallic sheen, and it works greatly to the songs’ benefit.

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Thinking about it, I’d have probably picked Nuclear Blast for Swedish power doom trio Grand Magus as far as new labels go, but according to Blabbermouth, it’s Roadrunner all the way. “For the win,” as they say on the intertubes. And with a marketing and distribution network behind them like that of the metal powerhouse, who knows what’s to come for Grand Magus. One hopes for a US tour, at very least. Congrats to the band, and here’s looking forward to the new album. Behold the news:

Roadrunner Records has announced the signing of Swedish heavy rockers Grand Magus.

Grand Magus is a three-piece band featuring ?JB? Christofferson (guitar, lead vocals), Fox Skinner (bass, backing vocals) and Sebastian ?Seb? Sippola (drums).

During the band’s 10-year history, Grand Magus has released two demos, one split EP and four full-length albums, and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews throughout. Their last opus, Iron Will, was voted “Album of The Month” in the German Metal Hammer and Rock Hard magazines.

Drawing hefty influences from the hand-on-heart grandeur of the NWOBHM and the inspirational mythology of their forbears, Grand Magus is steeped in pre-Christian tales of triumph, vengeance, betrayal, wisdom and death. But Grand Magus also stands for energetic live performances, as seen at this year’s European festivals such as Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Wacken, Summer Breeze and on tour in Europe with bands like At the Gates, Cathedral, Candlemass, Tyrant, Serpentcult and Electric Wizard.

Roadrunner Records will release Grand Magus‘ new album, Hammer of the North, in spring/early summer of 2010. On this CD, Grand Magus has perfected its own style of full-on metal assault with fantastic heavy riffing and stomping songs, strong hook-lines, epic vocals/lyrics and rousing solo guitars.

Commented Grand Magus: “We are thrilled with working with Roadrunner Records. We regard this both as a great sign of recognition and most importantly a chance for us to really push ourselves and the music to the point of perfection. We are confident that the team of us and Roadrunner will be something really special.”

NOTE: Before this review gets under way, I’d just like to say I’m a huge nerd for Steven Wilson, so please take these comments in the context of coming from a fan. Not even going to feign impartiality on this one.

Like Opeth before them, UK proggers Porcupine Tree are the latest in the league of already well-established bands to join the Roadrunner Records roster, and they do so with The Incident, an album that, although it?s bound to get wider exposure than some of their previous releases (Deadwing cries out from the abyss for a deluxe RR reissue that in all likelihood won?t happen) and thus sell better, seems less centrally focused on songwriting and more given to ambient passages and open spaces in the music.

Frontman, guitarist, singer, songwriter and engineer Steven Wilson flirted on Porcupine Tree?s last opus, 2007?s Fear of a Blank Planet, with the idea of one album-length song, resulting in the 17-minute centerpiece cut ?Anesthetize.? On The Incident, he once again takes up the challenge, seeing it through to completion across the disc?s 14 separate tracks as one continuous, sometimes meandering, piece of music. Those who?ve followed Wilson since 2002?s Lava Records breakthrough album, In Absentia will be interested to learn the coalescence that seemed to take place within his songwriting, the contraction of his methodology that led to such landmark cuts as ?Strip the Soul,? ?Shallow? and ?Arriving Somewhere but Not Here,? has once again begun to spread out, and although songs like ?The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train,? ?Degree Zero of Liberty? and ?Occam?s Razor? — as well as several others — hover around two minutes in length, what they offer is breathing room between more substantive movements, like ?The Incident? or ?The Blind House.? How necessary they are in the first place is a matter for listeners to decide on their own, but one might consider them the equivalent experiments to the electronic dissonance that showed itself on last year?s Wilson solo outing, Insurgentes. At least he?s trying something new.

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Chances are that when a giant rock from outer space smashes into the rest of our governmentally-respirated economy and the book is closed on Western Civilization as we now see it, the circles are few and far between in which Roadrunner Records A&R legend Monte Conner is going to be remembered for exposing us all to the likes of Floodgate and Karma to Burn.

But, few and far between though they are, they’re these circles, damn it, so when I had the chance to talk to Conner, it wasn’t the stories about Max Cavalera and Sepultura or Glen Benton and Deicide that I wanted to hear (though those stories are awesome as well). I wanted to know about why the first Queens of the Stone Age record was put out by Roadrunner in Europe and not the US. I wanted to know why the version of Leadfoot‘s Bring it On that I paid a dollar for in the junk bin at a record store has his label’s logo on it, but not the one I had from way back whenever that album came out. And I wanted to know why stoner rock makes for bad business when for the most part the music is traditionally structured and easily accessible. Well, fortunately Monte‘s a bit of a talker. And unbeknownst to many — but, I admit, knownst to me before I set up the phoner — he’s actually a pretty big stoner rock fan.

Just on the other side of that “Read More” link down there, Conner opines on the above, how come the genre has never taken off commercially, and much more, including some of his all-time favorite stoner bands and albums. Enjoy.

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