Beats and yelling: Grievance

Lúgubres Devaneios De Abismos E SombrasOut 5th May on Haloran Records Portugal’s Grievance have long been a holdout of authentic second wave black metal most obviously cut from the cloth of – but never limited to – early Burzum. Here we see them pivot in a more depressive direction, but one digested through an idiosyncratic filter. Depressive in terms of contouring at least, the tempos have slowed since their last effort, the riffs adopting a droning if not defeatist demeanour, and the vocals lean into the high emotionalism associated with this wing of the black metal complex. But there is still plenty of room for the riffs to wander into a triumphalist mindset, as the swirling repetition gradually solidifies into moments of bright clarity, a struggle overcome. This is achieved by Grievance’s strict commitment to developing a distinctive melodic palette, one that is carried throughout the entire album in longform. The production holds few surprises for anyone familiar with this…