Abaddon magazine

Tag: Groza

  • Review: Groza – Nadir

    Review: Groza – Nadir

    Label: AOP Records

    Date: September 20th, 2024

    I’ll open this one with the question of whether or not I’m biased when it comes to Groza. On the one hand, I’ve reviewed their groundbreaking “The Redemptive End”, praising it above and beyond. I’ve also been privileged to meet the band, share the stage with them and overall enjoy their company. On the other hand though, a counterargument, I am among the very few that believe Mgła is an extremely overrated act. And we all know where Groza comes from.

    All the stated above could induce at least a minor head explosion when the opportunity strikes to share thoughts about the new album by the Germans. Thankfully, Poles are slow to react and are leaving a whole lot of room to wander about. Filling the void, and then some, Groza comes with an even further enticing album than the predecessor. As for Mgła, I’ve written it before. They’ve long become creatively stagnant and uninteresting to me. I’ll write it again, just so we’re clear, Groza is the name to follow if you’re in need of darkly melodic, dissonant black metal.

    As far as “Nadir” is concerned, the album is a step above “The Redemptive End”. There’s no question of the primary influence for Groza, never has there been, but here they’ve taken from a few different gardens of black metal delight. Namely, they’ve broadened their melodic input, which now encompasses a much more varied emotional ground. Primarily the melancholic melodies and atmospheric passages which come closer to the legacy of Harakiri For The Sky, or even God Is An Astronaut with the sheer density and occasional claustrophobic sensation.

    This widening of creative liberties gave the band a whole lot of unexplored room in which to play. Opening up to touches that range from melodic death metal all the way to almost progressive rock gave the songs a plethora of details that enhance the listening experience much higher than black metal of Groza’s yesterday ever could.

    Of course, don’t be alarmed, there’s (still) no sign of Opeth-alike shift in direction. “Nadir” is a black metal album through and through, dark and aloof. However, it’s not a cold display of utter void that embraces the listener. Instead, you’re presented with a record that demands absolute involvement and complete focus. Not to mention a number of spins to comprehend it fully.

    Expressive to a point where it stabs you with five long knives, “Nadir” is a showcase of the creative talent which surfaces, even if contested as derivative or second hand. Groza has come to surpass the bandwagon tag, both musically and qualitatively. Without a doubt in my mind, this is a force greater than the one which initiated it.

     

  • Groza reveals details of upcoming album “Nadir”

    Groza reveals details of upcoming album “Nadir”

    German black metal collective Groza has returned, unveiling details of their long-awaited 3rd album, “Nadir”, that will be released on September 20th with AOP Records. Following two critically lauded releases, extensive touring in over 20 countries and a worldwide cult fanbase, Groza continues their path as one of the fiercest bands in the dark metal realm.

    Conjuring a sound that melds intense atmospheric soundscapes and enraged melodic vocals with blistering blast beats and catastrophic riffs that invoke powerful emotions of anger and sadness, GrozaGrozaGroza has crafted six songs that defy boundaries and create a new benchmark for modern black metal.

    Today, the band has revealed the first of those tracks, “Dysthymian Dreams.” 

    1. Soul: Inert
    2. Asbest
    3. Dysthymian Dreams
    4. Equal. Silent. Cold.
    5. Deluge
    6. Daffodils feat. J.J. & M.S. // Karg & Harakiri for the sky

  • Review: Groza – The Redemptive End

    Review: Groza – The Redemptive End

    Label: AOP Records

    Date: July 30th, 2021

    There are heaps of rubbish to be thrown on these Germans. While looking around, investigating and trying to come up with something meaningful to write here, I came across a huge “discussion” about whether this is a part of a bandwagon or a simply amazing fresh force on the black metal playground.

    The thoughts are varied to the point where Groza’s debut album scores zero percent with three reviews on Metal Archives and is praised in some really respectable publications. Some go down the middle of the road saying it was a decent copycat.

    Me, I haven’t had a chance to examine the mentioned debut, but listening to its follow-up, I can clearly see where the problem lays. Let me tell you what my thoughts are.

    If you create good music, it really doesn’t matter if you look up to an already existing pattern or a band. Simple as that. After all, ninety nine percent of today’s music is a remix. The remaining one percent are the greats of whatever genre we’re dealing with at the time. If we take Groza as an example, yeah, sure, I can hear Mgla, Harakiri For The Sky and a pinch of that Icelandic atmosphere floating around. No question if the Germans are looking up to those bands.

    However, what I’m about to say might shock you. This next sentence contains words that some readers may find disturbing. “The Redemptive End” is a better album than anything Mgla did after “With Hearts toward none”. Yet I don’t find anything but deifying attitudes towards the Poles, even if they are recycling their own invention for the past six or seven years. Making album after album of the very same stuff that made them famous.

    Okay, Groza are no Mgla. They are lacking their own touch. One can easily mistake their soundscape for Mgla’s. Harakiri, not so much. But does that automatically mean this is a bad record?

    Hell no! It is not! It is a very good one! Right on the level of the one that gave the Germans their name. Still, below the mentioned sophomore by the Poles. But, I still underline that it is a better effort than anything after it.

    I love it and it took me just a couple of spins to fall in love with it. Through and through. And I suggest you try it too. Forget about whether it sounds like this or that, or it stems from here or there. It all goes back to that caveman who first found out clapping his hands makes some sort of a lovely sound, anyway. The progression of music is indefinite. So who cares if “The Redemptive End” is not the next step in that progression? It is a fine piece of music and that is the one and only conclusion to be made.