I cannot profess enough how great of a feeling it is to rediscover the love for a particular genre. I’ve had a penchant for black metal ever since my first stints delving into the overall metal genre; something about its sound and aesthetic always being shrouded in mystery was something that captivated me and captured what I thought was the perfect imaginary for metal in its essence. And while I still listen to the subgenre from time to time, I’ve yet to stumble upon a band these days that transmits that otherworldly sensation I’ve come to associate with it. Thus appear the Siberian atmospheric black metal duo Grima with their sixth (I have some homework to do) studio album Nightside, and it was exactly what I was longing for.
Frankly, I’m finding it hard to exactly pinpoint why this project stands out to me in comparison to others – sure, it might as well be right timing, but digging deeper into this record, there’s intention and meticulousness to its execution capable of transporting you to this enchanting sonic world Grima have crafted here. Upon further research, it should be of no surprise that the quality presented on Nightside is, indeed, intentional and consonant to the project’s identity:
‘The mystical aspect is very important to us – music should carry a magical meaning. We needed a powerful force that would embody the might of our Siberian forests and mountains, a supernatural figure that would become the foundation of our mythology. We gave it a name: Grima.‘
And mystical is a fantastic way to describe their sound. “Flight of the Silver Storm” was my introduction to the record, and, as soon as the bayan (a type of accordion developed during the Russian Empire) melded with the rest of the instrumentation, I was immediately transfixed. The track brims with an atmosphere that suggests untold tales of arcane knowledge being slowly revealed, whose icy and sorrowful undertone further brings immersion and intrigue to learn more about it. The rest of the album carries this trend with varying intensity but with equally gratifying results, offering an atmospheric folk black metal bursting with life, magic, and a craving for the uncharted.
Although the bayan is certainly the personal highlight of Nightside – whose subtle potency punctures deep in the crevices of the heart – as showcased on tracks such as “The Nightside” and “Mist and Fog”, the overall musicianship laced throughout is correspondingly worthy of praise. “Beyond the Dark Horizon” executes flawless mid-tempo black metal with uniquely snarling vocals that are uncanny as much as they are commanding, while a track like “Skull Gatherers” gleams with wander with its quasi-psychedelic musings.
And although it’s clear that the record upholds a particular sound in its entirety, there’s never a moment where it becomes stale. Apart from the variety shown, there’s a towering presence in each track that emits sheer awe – and much of it has to do with the duo’s appreciation for the East Siberian taiga. Its wintry scope and beauty is well represented on Nightside, making for a record that is epic in the truest sense of the word – look no further than tracks such as the aforementioned “Flight of the Silver Storm”, the soaring “Impending Death Premonition”, and the impressively herculean “Curse of the Void”.
Nightside is the first metal album of the year to genuinely captivate me. Not only is it a fantastic atmospheric black metal record in of itself, but the commitment that the Siberian duo have shown to foster the mystical and otherworldly through their sound recaptures the wonder and enthusiasm to plunge into the sonic lores of these types of genres. Of course, there are countless other bands that have done similar approaches and with great execution. Still, there is always one that is able to give you the grace to reawaken the thrill for a certain musical styling that has long been diluted with time – and that happened to be Grima for me.
