Grey Mountain - Grey Mountain

Grey Mountain is a doom metal band featuring members of Monsterworks, Bull Elephant, Construct of Lethe, and Moose Cult, among others.  That is an amazing pedigree so I was pretty excited to dive into their debut, self titled album.

The variety and dynamics within the album make it stand out from what is already a mountain of new music arriving in 2025.  They combine into their doom traditional heavy metal, death, black, post, and even some discordant influences.  If that sounds like it a lot that’s because, well, it is.  But fear not, the band handles these myriad styles with apparent ease and pulls off a very cohesive experience. 

The album is just under 39 minutes in length across seven songs so it’s a balanced ride even in terms of running time so coming back to this a few dozen times isn’t a problem at all.  The flow is perfect and it goes from one end to the other without any issues. Thankfully, the production/mix handles the different styles very well without anything being muddled–every instrument shines in their own spotlight without overtaking the others.   I really like the sound of the rhythm section, very full and encompassing. 

The sense of melody is fantastic, especially in terms of how the bass plays off the guitar parts.  Check out the opening song, “Grey Mountain,” and the bass that runs through the clean tones.  The drums have their own keen sense of adventure, offering a steady buildup of energy that explodes around the 30 second mark.  Slow melodies cascade along the steady rhythm as the song sprawls out in a very natural way.  I love the vocals here—throaty, abrasive blackened screams mixed with low death growls.  Menacing to a high degree!   The guitars offer a slow but crushing groove that intertwines with the song as it moves towards the final half that features wonderful melodies and a tapestry of clean vocals against crashing drums.

The band takes a more heavy-handed, focused route on “A Universal Evil,” but still manages to fit clever melodies between the brutal guitars and vocals.  The drums hammer in perfectly into the song, complimenting at just the right moments without being overbearing.   How the band moves from riffs to harmonious passages is nothing short of astonishing.   The song gets a segment of clean tones that are hypnotic in their approach before the rising action of black clouds of doom enter.  The song grows aggressively potent near the 5 minute mark but takes a left turn into psychedelic territory after six minutes in.  This song showcases just how adept the band is at presenting so many different sounds while still making it all make sense. 

“Many Shades, A Storm,” is one of my favorites on the album.  It’s hazy and just dismal enough without taking away a sense of melodic charm.  Many of the riffs are heavy grooves that combine with the drums to offer moments of raging clarity.  The middle portion is beautiful in an odd way, mixing clean background vocals with blackened screams.  After a harrowing passage of extremity, the song ends on clean notes that are just as capable as the heavier parts.

The final song, “Living Mythology,” is a banger with a shit ton of rocking moments settled between short but blazing solos.  The guitar tone is pure arcane magic, sludge/doom that is as abrasive as the vocals.  The solo after the 3:40 mark is imaginative and adds a fun but engaging layer to the heavy guitars and drums.

Grey Mountain’s self-titled debut is a strikingly amazing first effort that is more mature than the band’s young years would perceive it to be at first thought.  I hope the project continues because if they are already this damn good, it’s almost scary to think of what the future holds for them! 

Rating: Excellent