Gloomy Grim – Obscure Metamorphosis

Gloomy Grim is a Finnish Symphonic Black Metal band, most likely one of the first of its kind considering that it was created in 1995. Since then and up to their, sadly, untimely pause that is still in effect, they have released a grand total of three Demos, two EP’s and six Full-length releases. The most recent of these, released a mere year before Agathons health required the band to go on hiatus is an EP entitled Obscure Metamorphosis and is, quite simply, a four-track long proof that mixing heavy melodies and a symphonic approach with a Black Metal mindset is, indeed, both possible and somewhat viable.

While Gloomy Grims chosen approach does mean that the traditional ‘gritty’ and dirty sound normally considered a staple of nineties Black Metal is not present, they have instead managed to add a continuous, albeit variable, flow to their music, with rising and lowering intonations as well as a change of instruments in the foreground in different intervals – All of which merging together to create a rather interesting take on Black Metal. Definitely not bad, and not unlike what Dimmu Borgir strived to be back in the day (although with a clear Finnish touch that I cannot seem precisely pinpoint).

Even if this ends up being the last album from Gloomy Grim in quite a while, I would like to point out that it is a very decent album – It might be a bit short (four tracks adding up to thirteen minutes in total), but that is almost always the case when it comes to EP’s. And given the reason, I would not dream of holding it against them. Most definitely recommended for fans of early Dimmu Borgir – and partially, fans of Bal-Sagoth.

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