Grimcult ‎"Revelations Of Sinister Flame" CD

Limited 500 copies

Here we got another Polish black metal act, this time one man project Grimcult. The Polish (black) metal scene has had an impressive rise within the past years, so whenever I stumble upon a new release from this country expectations are pretty high. I am glad to say that Grimcult fully deliver, although one’s personal enjoyment might depend on what you believe you are going to get. This is not the quite modern, hyper-polished and often technically flawless kind of stuff we have got used to. The debut EP “Revelations of Sinister Flame” is a pure and completely handcrafted piece of raw old school black metal.
That is not to say that the instrumentation here is lackluster, not at all. The playing is tight and on point, and so is the songwriting. The feel of the whole EP is rather hostile and misanthropic, which is well compensated by the melancholy emitted from the other side. Tempo variations are thrown in for good measure, and you can expect anything varying from blasting furies, to groovier parts, to some slower patterns. Grimcult is not afraid to throw in some weirder harmonies as well, as proven for example in the final parts of track number six “Death Dream”.
As well something enjoyable is the structure and the progression from one riff seamlessly bleeding into the next one, with certain pieces repeated all over again, often with some subtle adoptions. This also proves that the rhythmic content is well structured and properly performed, and while overall there is a certain monotony inherent in this album, the songs fly by and are real fun. On top of the harsh guitars and the raw drum parts the vocals present one of the highlights here, coming with an extra portion of ancient evilness. There is a frightening power inherit, perfectly fitting the eerie atmosphere.
The production is rough, and some might argue maybe too rough and not refined enough, but purists should be happy about it. This is still way above lo-fi or garage sound, and I for one think that “Revelations of Sinister Flame” comes with enough punch and grit for every fan of this kind of frosty old school music. So has Grimcult done anything better than any of his peers? Most certainly not. Is this album fun to listen to and worth adding to the collection? Hell yes.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...