We’ll allow Griefbringer to introduce themselves before we introduce you to their stupefying music:
“We’re all from the gloomy and dark side of the Italian scene, with 30 years of international experience in bands such as MONUMENTUM, HAUNTED, SCHIZO, HELL OBELISCO, just to name a few.
“Collaboration with the previous projects convinced us to get together and explore the depth of the soul in this new creature. Darkness and godliness of places and images are our most important source of inspiration.”
To render their visions in sound, Griefbringer draw upon the traditions of doom, sludge, and death metal, of a particularly pulverizing, mind-ruining, yet head-hooking variety. The results of their pitch-black craft will be revealed through a debut album aptly named The Horrible Wilting, which will be released on November 18th by Church of Crow Records.
Griefbringer began introducing their album to the public through their debut of the song “Disfigurement“. It is not a gentle embrace for timid souls, but a lumbering musical monstrosity.
Best heard at maximum volume, the song methodically clobbers listeners with distorted, disfiguring riffs (pun intended) that create a morbid atmosphere of utter hopelessness, and with drum and bass blows that sound like mortar shells detonating inside the mind.
The song’s opening refrain creates a kind of ill spell, but the vocals are anything but mesmerizing, because they scald with vicious, throat-ripping intensity and descend into grotesque distorted growls that radiate from the belly of the beast.
Oh hell no, the song isn’t for the timid or the frail. It’s a nightmare, a frightening depiction of fear and agony. The guitars seem to moan and plead near the end, but the pleas aren’t answered.
“Disfigurement” comes second in the running order of The Horrible Wilting. It is the song we’re premiering today through a lyric video that comes first. The band have given us these comments about it:
“The first video from The Horrible Wilting is ‘Blind Harbinger’, which can be seen as a journey into an age when an entity without eyes traveled to collect souls destined for eternity. After the first song, ‘Disfigurement’, this chapter shows another side of Griefbringer: the sound wall remains massive but the melodies become more decadent. ‘The Horrible Wilting’ will show you the abyss from different angles: get ready for a journey in the company of doom and sludge”.
It was already evident from “Disfigurement” that Griefbringer know how to write fiendish musical hooks, and they prove it again with this song. They also prove again how remorseless their rhythm section is in meting out heavyweight punishment. This time, however, there’s singing to go along with those gargantuan growls, and the vocal harmonies turn out to have hooks too.
This songs seems more maniacal, or at least more diabolically effervescent, than “Disfigurement“, though it’s still not a speedy adventure. And as catchy as it is, it’s still hopeless and scary.
Credit for production of the video goes to Matteo Marinelli. Credit for the album’s bleak but attention-grabbing cover art goes to View From The Coffin. The band provide further credits in this statement:
“After years of recording and mixing and mastering and sacrificial offers to the gods of dusk we’re ready to finally unleash The Horrible Wilting. The beast has been mastered by the Grammy winner Giovanni Versari at La Maestà studio, plus reamp by Marco Mastrobuono at Kick Recording Studio and recording, mixing and wisdom by Marco Paradisi at Boat Studio.”
GRIEFBRINGER is:
Luca Frazzoni – guitars, vocals
Andrea Zanetti – bass, vocals
Dario Casabona – drums.
PRE-ORDER:
https://griefbringer.bandcamp.com/releases
FOLLOW GRIEFBRINGER:
https://www.facebook.com/bringerofgrief