Grimveil - Beneath the Veil of Silent Woods

Grimveil is a black metal band with international origins, members hailing from both Sweden and Germany.  It’s actually a duo, composed of vocalist Revenant (Order of Nosferat, Sarkrista, Siechknecht, Velmorth) and Simon Lindgren (Tårfödd), who handles all the instruments.

All these bands are kicking ass so I would assume Grimveil would be too–and my assumptions were correct.  This is an atmospheric black metal which represents a sound inspired by nature.  It has a somber, melancholic feel but not one that’s depressing but one born of respect from the natural world around them and a desire to delve into the earth’s manifestations. 

The production is pretty much spot on.  The vocals and instruments retain the blackened tone the genre has become known for, but the mix is vibrant enough to capture the clean passages and atmospheric nuances that exist among these mid-paced stories that also feature more than a few moments of whiplash speed. 

It’s a beautiful, well-written album that feels serene in ways that other black metal just doesn’t yet its feet are firmly planted in the genre’s foundation—it’s still extreme, it’s still against the grain, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be emotional, thought-provoking and delicate in its own ways. 

This is one of those albums that can be listened to on a piece-meal basis or straight through (which is the way I prefer) but every song is good and they all sound different from each other enough that boredom doesn’t set in.

Regardless of how you choose to listen to it, I still think the first song, “Where the Path Fades to Nothing,” should be the first go to.  The song’s gentle opening, consisting of the wind blowing through the night and clean instrumentation, makes for a perfect built-in intro.  This emotionally gripping passage segues into the heavier one seamlessly.  The vocals are fantastic—mid range blackened screams/shrieks that echo out against the wave of music they ride upon.  The final part of the song is the clean and distorted elements swirling together while Revenant screams out into the night. 

The album even makes room for an epic in the form of the 10 minute long “Only Trees Bear Witness,” which features another gorgeous clean intro.  Around the 2:45 mark, the instruments drop a layer of black metal that’s heavy, chilling, yet moving with emotion all the same. I love the middle portion of the song:  breakneck speed leads into melodic guitars and this is a piece that demands repeated listens because it's so goddamn mesmerizing.  Everything grows a little darker after the 6-minute mark—this part of the song feels like the oncoming night and the embracement of the inevitable changing conditions of nature. 

The catchiest song on the album has to be “Where Beauty Breathes in Silence.” The acoustic intro hits a spot in me that I didn’t even know I had.  Who says black metal, or metal in general, can’t move you?    The cadence and tempo that follows is bolstered by blackened vocals and deliciously melodic guitars that exist in between brutal moments of sharp drums and the rumbling rhythm prowess of the bass.  

The final song, “The Light that Lives in Leaves,” is more of an outro compared to the longer structures of the previous songs but I can’t think of a better way for the album to begin than through this acoustic instrumental with sound bites consisting of birds in their natural environment. 

Grimveil’s “Beneath the Veil of Silent Woods,” is a surprise album for me–I didn’t think it would tug at the heart strings or be anywhere as engaging and sonically adventurous as it is.  This is definitely recommended for fans of black metal that isn’t just about violence and misanthropy. 

Rating: Excellent