After a very long wait, Sweden’s own Heavy and Doom Metal institution is back with a new collection of battle hymns inspired by the tale of Beowulf and Grendel.

In their over 20 years of career, Stockholm, Sweden’s own Heavy/Doom Metal institution Grand Magus has been eternalized in the music history and looks back on a treasury full of all-time Heavy Metal anthems. Now in 2024 the band formed of Janne “JB” Christoffersson on vocals and guitars, Mats “Fox” Skinner on bass, and Ludwig “Ludde” Witt on drums is back with a new blast of memorable battle hymns entitled Sunraven, a concept album about Beowulf and Grendel, a worthy follow-up to their 2019 album Wolf God, and a lecture in heavy doom that will certainly feature among the best metal albums of the year on any list that worships the power of the mighty riff.

And the riffs by Janne sound beautifully heavy and doomed in Skybound, setting the tone in a lesson in Epic Doom Metal by the trio, with the deep, passionate vocals by Janne adding even more epicness to the overall result. Yes, I guess I’ll overuse the word “epic” on this review as you might have already notice. Then investing in a more direct Doom Metal sound we have The Wheel of Pain, with the pounding drums by Ludwig and the low-tuned bass by Mats bringing sheer heaviness to the music, followed by the title-track Sunraven, where the trio keeps delivering sonic awesomeness with their crisp, sharp riffs and blasting beats sounding majestic. It’s time to darken the skies with the melodic and heavy Winter Storms, as cold as it’s vibrant and grim, in line with their Swedish roots and loyal to their foundations; whereas The Black Lake is perhaps the most Black Sabbath-ish song of the entire album (and even of their entire career), to the point we can imagine the almighty Dio singing it. Needless to say, Janne is once again spot-on with his vocals and riffs.

The second half of the album begins with the utterly epic, electrifying Hour of the Wolf, with the guitars by Janne and the rumbling kitchen by Mats and Ludwig inviting us all to head into the battlefield together with Grand Magus, followed by Grendel, another blast of their classic fusion of Heavy, Epic and Doom Metal, offering more of their trademark riffs and beats as well as the low-tuned bass by Mats. To Heorot sounds utterly stunning form start to finish, inspiring us all to raise our fists in the air to the classic vocals by Janne while Ludwig hammers his drums in great fashion, sounding also perfect for some vigorous headbanging in the name of doom; and the power of the riff is also outstanding in the closing tune The End Belongs to You, putting a classy ending to the album and leaving us all more than eager for more (as the album has only 35 minutes of music in total).

I would have simply loved if the album had an extra 10 or 15 minutes of music, mainly because we’ve all been waiting for a new Grand Magus opus for quite some time, but let’s say the band kept Sunraven tight and sharp from start to finish  without sounding cheesy, tiresome or anything like that, which means it might have only 35 minutes in duration, but those are damn intense 35 minutes for our total delight. Hence, don’t forget to stream the album in full on YouTube and on Spotify, to follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and so on, and above all that, to grab a copy of the hammering Sunraven by clicking HERE. “The album is about Beowulf and Grendel. In essence, Sunraven is Beowulf, and that’s my own invention,” Janne explains. “But some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Beowulf, and some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Grendel, the monster he faces in Denmark. That kind of steered me and carried me through the lyrical process this time. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve always been fascinated by that tale. These myths and legends are about all the basic things that we sing about – life, death, glory, dishonour, love, hate, overcoming difficulties, facing impossible opposition and so on.” In other words, what can sound more Heavy Metal than such a strong tale, right? And of course, only Grand Magus could bring all that to life with so much passion, epicness and glory.

Best moments of the album: Skybound, Sunraven, Hour of the Wolf and To Heorot.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2024 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Skybound 3:28
2. The Wheel of Pain 3:23
3. Sunraven 3:37
4. Winter Storms 5:15
5. The Black Lake 5:34
6. Hour of the Wolf 4:03
7. Grendel 3:32
8. To Heorot 3:00
9. The End Belongs to You 3:21

Band members
Janne “JB” Christoffersson – lead vocals, guitars
Mats “Fox” Skinner – bass, backing vocals
Ludwig “Ludde” Witt – drums