Ever since my interview with Heljarmadr late list year, I had been looking forward to Lycaon’s release. Fortunately, the wait was well worth at it. Lycaon is a beast of a recording stuffed full of skull crushing beats and darkened riffs.
The first track, “White City Devil,” is a powerful song with some of the most melodic moments of the entire album. The sound is big here and veers into more of a “Black n Roll” style. It’s a total banger and one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Don’t worry GRA hasn’t abandoned their roots . “Flame of Hephaestus,” brings the back the more familiar Swedish Black Metal sound the band sound “Torn Asunder,” sees GRA melding more darkness while adding dome more killer riffs. Heljarmadr’s demonic vocals take center stage here.
The title track “Lycaon,” is sang in the band’s native Swedish language. For me, this makes the song go harder than any of the songs that the band performs in English. Next we treated to a straight up ripping cover of Bathroy’s “Chariots of Fire,” GRA goes hard as fuck here making it an absolute must listen. It’s fast, it’s aggressive, it’s mean, It’s awesome!
“Brannmarkt” slows things down but turns up the darkness. It’s a murky trek deep into darkness. “Jaws of the Underworld,” acts as the perfect send off for Lycaon. The instrumental track boots some incredible drum work and cinematic flair.
All in all, Lycaon is another solid release from GRA. It stays true to its Swedish Black Metal roots while adding in more melodic and black n roll sounds. Luckily, none of this feels force or “experimental.” What you have here is a damn fine Metal album that’s worthy of your attention.