Grift - Arvet
Nordvis Produktion
Depressive Black Metal
6 songs (34'56")
Release year: 2017
Reviewed by Alex

A couple of years ago Swedish Grift won my “most emotional album of the year” award with the effort Syner. The work of one man, Erik Gardefors, listening to Grift always provides you with knowledge that no matter how hurt, slighted or lonely you feel, there is always someone out there who is worse off. Clean sounding, morose, miserable, bleak soundscapes painted by Grift, and reinforced by Erik’s howling, similar to Shining or Lifelover, cannot help but give that impression. Strangely enough, I have used Syner many times to think of other peoples’ miseries when feeling sorry for myself. (And today it, sadly, pertains to some close family members I love. My troubles are not even close to what it is you are going through …)

The new album Arvet, in principle, delivers no less of an emotional punch and still focuses stylistically on man’s insignificance and depression. Only it does it with slightly shorter, less layered, and more rustic sounding songs. There is a lot more focus on acoustic guitar in Arvet, and less piano/synth background than there was in Syner, or so it seems to me. Acoustic guitars run into a full force of music by 3rd min on Flyktfast, but the latter quickly subsides, just like Nattyxne also pits quiet acoustics against soul screams and profound melodies. As a result, Arvet sounds a lot more like Agalloch around The Mantle era to me than its predecessor. There are still denser moments, like melodic struggles against percussion on Den stora tystnaden, or strong opening of Utdoingsbygd, but there are quite a few simpler, barer, open moments on Arvet than there were on Syner. Eric’s voice produces a lot of trademark distorted inhuman wailing and bawling, but added in are cleaner withdrawn otherworldly laments, including female help to close Utdoingsbygd.

Also present are new avant-garde elements. Glomskans jarteken comes from the inside of a decrepit abandoned building. The haunted house wind chimes are rustling, half-open doors are creaking and clean vocals profess impending doom and neglect. Morgon pa Strongsholm is full of cacophonous edgy guitar touches, cutting the flesh one prick at a time, when Swedish narration, not to be understood for its meaning by 90% of listeners out there, creates mysterious mystical aura.

Without absolute breathtaking singles like Aftonlandet or Svaltorna, Arvet still invites for repeated listens, and once through many spins I found satisfaction in this album, just not as much as Syner.

Killing Songs :
Den stora tystnaden,Utdoingsbygd
Alex quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Grift that we have reviewed:
Grift - Syner reviewed by Alex and quoted 95 / 100
Grift - Fyra Elegier reviewed by Alex and quoted 73 / 100
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