Grand Demise of Civilization - The Blaze of Abandon

Dear Ten GK

I write this on a Monday morning from a small desk that faces outwards to an aisle of encyclopedias. The prison library is noisier than it usually is. Someone has carved ‘I love Cats’ into the desk. I wonder for a moment how 'that someone' smuggled a shiv past the guard, and my wondering stops when I notice a click beetle on the floor. It looks like it is dead, but they are good at that. The blades on the ceiling fan above my head have a thin layer of dust covering them, and it hums as the beetle goes click, click, click. The prison warden's granddaughter is playing Connect 4 in a meeting room located next to the aisle of encyclopedias. The meeting room is locked, and the light flickers. Things are always requiring maintenance around here. Every few minutes the fan stops humming, and I can hear the plastic discs making contact with each other. Her name is Lola, and she asked me last week if I was now counting down the days until I can see my granddaughter, Elise. I smiled at Lola and replied, "I'm counting up the days, my dear."

The Blaze of Abaddon is one of the longer Black Metal albums that you have sent me this year. Normally, 50 minutes of Black or Death Metal is too long for me, but I found myself engrossed with this album, and the way it moves. The epic style that the band plays lends itself to longer songs, and this took me away at times, not quite to hell, but close enough. While The Blaze of Abaddon is not symphonic, or abundant with synths, there is a grand flare to the arrangements, each track is varied and dynamic, and they start in one place and end in another.

The album can get technical, particularly early on, but there is a good balance between the detailed guitar parts as the album progresses. The tremolos on the opening song, “Redeemer of Wrath” are really catchy and memorable, and I found myself humming them. Grand Demise of Civilization make it sound easy to write a song like that, and each member is clearly in synch with each other, it never sounds forced, or that it was made by a committee. The variation also relates to the pace of the album. It is the sign of a mature band when the songwriting considers pace, timing, restraint, control and abandon. The vocals also diverge from Black Metal screams (like Ihsahn at times) and screeches, to occasional Death Metal vocals, particularly early on the song “Nephilim.”

“Silencer” has a doomy vibe, and the bass comes forward in the mix at the start of this song, which I really like. It has a cool vibe to it, and presents something different. I do like it when Grand Demise of Civilization drop the pace, and increase the low end. The band can be really menacing when they want to be. But, there are some fleeting moments where they falter. They often display short-lived flashy and wizard like guitar runs that often come at the end of a tremolo, particularly on “Redeemer of Wrath” and to a lesser extent on “Cathedral Reaper.” It reminds me of a cartoon when the bad character falls into a trap. Thankfully they are short-lived.

I really like the song, “North to Hell.” Again, there is a threatening low end here, and the opening is Sabbath like. The band are definitely at their best when they slow things down, and play music that belongs in hell. The album is still a few minutes too long for my tastes. I get lost a bit at times, and some minor editing, and trimming of the songs to 6-7 minutes would work better. Perhaps removing the acoustic and flamenco parts on the final two songs would be better, as that dynamic does not fit into the flow of the album, and it is confusing.

I need to find myself better arguments in relation to Blackened Death Metal. It is all starting to sound the same to me, but The Blaze of Abaddon has enough distinguishing elements in its sound and approach to stand out from the pack. There is a very very good Black Metal album within the 50 minutes here. It is just a shame that there is a bit of filler included around it. I also really like the look of the cover art. More red is required in metal these days! And what’s not to love about Satanic/Demon bats! I like this band and what they have released here.

emily nessie

Hi Emily,

I am at the point where I too count up the days. You have something to look forward to, and the day will come where you begin a week, and you will know that by the end of it, you will be able to see Elise.

Thank you for your in depth take on The Blaze of Abaddon by Grand Demise of Civilization. The band are from Minneapolis and this is their 4th album. You can definitely hear the progression, especially if you listen to their cold and raw sounding debut, and then this one back to back. Their sound has filled out, and their songwriting ability has improved immensely.

The production job needs a special mention. They have put a great deal of thought into how this one sounds. It has a warmer vibe, which matches the cover art. There is no point sounding like it was recorded in a forest cabin in the middle of Winter, and then having an album cover that looks like hell on earth.

Agree Emily, some editing would benefit the overall impact of the album. There is some repetition that does not need to occur, and that last fiddly flamenco guitar part is a chin scratcher. Other than that, it is a killer album, and fans of Emperor should give this a play through.