Grim Colossus - Descent Into Madness

Grim Colossus is a one-man (Magnus Berglind)  doom metal project from Sweden, who released their debut EP “Where Shadows Dwell,” in 2022.  Flash forward a couple years and they have dropped their full-length debut “Descent Into Madness.”   

From my understanding, the album tells a story of a man who, after diving into the occult, becomes haunted by nightmares and visions.   The atmosphere of the music definitely goes alongside the story, offering a grim and horror filled experience.  The production is fitting as well, just raw enough to add girth and grit.

Despite the subject matter, this is not extreme doom.  Instead, the experience is told in a much more traditional style of doom.  Comparisons to Candlemass would not be wrong but I find this to be darker and more melancholic than a lot of other bands who try the old school doom worship.  This is doom just how it should be played:  low, slow, and full of despair.  With that being said, the songs do speed up when needed.  

Magnus’ vocals are amazing.  He has a huge, clean voice full of emotional intricacies without being overly theatrical or operatic.  He’s definitely great at building songs around riff based structures but it is his composition skills that are the highlight of the album.  Every instrument plays so well with the others, each note being exactly where it needs to be.  In essence, this album is full of well organized songs that flow just as they should considering its story based approach. 

Since the album is (somewhat) short at just 31 minutes across 7 songs, I will say a little something about each of them.  

The album opens with “Dreamworld,” offering low, clean tones and deep, almost Gothic vocals.  A little over a minute into it, the heavy riffs fall like a rock but the clean tones stay, creating a very dark sound.  The vocals are tortured, aggressive in their own way.   This song is a fantastic introduction to the album, a slow dirge that grabbed me immediately.

“Insomnolence,” sends the doom into hyperspace, with fast riffs and pounding drums.  The bass rumbles appropriately, threatening to shake apart the foundation.   The groove guitars are catchy but still more than intense enough for their purpose.  

The monstrous riffs on “Into The Tomb,” are some of the best on the album.  At this point, I realize that the album is growing darker as the songs progress.  This is one of my favorites on the album, the guitars and bass just dig deep into cavernous tombs and pull out some truly nasty guitars.  

“Descent Into Madness,” embraces its namesake through the guitars and bass offering a widing approach of the brain losing sense of reality.  The clean, darkly melancholic intro and mid-section go a long way in planting a foothold in the darkness but it’s the guitar solo near the sound’s edge that truly reaches out for the unknown.

Dream-like visions make up “Phantasmagoria,”  and the song nails down what it might be like to be locked within this feverish state.  The guitar tone is sinister as hell and even frightening to a degree.  The rhythm that backs up the solo around the 2:30 mark is as crushing and bleak as anything I’ve heard this year.

The short but sweet “Sconces of Fire,” showcases that doom can be done well in a limited time frame.   Not a second is wasted, from the sludge opening to the faster paced verses, this song offers a rollercoaster of fear and horror.

“Paradise,” ends the songs, filled with an incredible vocal performance and melodic riffs that drip with dramatic tension.  The drums are especially pervasive, making this perhaps the heaviest song on the album.  It’s a dirge that represents everything I love about doom metal.

Grim Colossus’ “Descent Into Madness,” is a great album that tells a story of that descent through both lyrics and music.  It’s a dark, brooding adventure that offers a lot of replay value, if you are willing to walk a path to darkness.