Artist: Gryla
Country: Norway
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Gryla is the brainchild and solo project of Torbjørn Kirby Torbo, a young Norwegian gentleman that is also active in Hevn III, Nedgravd and Ormpest. In 2024 Gryla released its first feat in the shape of a digital full-length album entitled ‘Jaundiced Hag of the Wood’ which ultimately led to interest from the renowned Iron Bonehead Productions. And it is under that banner that the sophomore album The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’ now manifests itself in physical form.
The musical frame of reference for Gryla can be mainly found in its homeland of Norway and somewhat in their Swedish neighbors. With a basis found in the old sound of Gorgoroth and Dødheimsgard, Gryla fuses this with the melodicism of Kvist and Dark Funeral and further adds a sense of groove. Take for instance the opening track. After the initial blast wave subsides, the song takes a more rhythmic, slower and open section plenty of rocking vibes and melody. This contrast between blistering Black Metal and more grooving sections is key to the sound of Gryla. Although musically they are in line with each other, compared to the debut the production of ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’ is more in your face. In particular the flurry of drums is at times overwhelming, and even a bit too overpowering. In these moments I’m reminded of Behexen’s ‘The Poisonous Path’, an album with an equally fierce sound that grabs you by its throat. But musically, Gryla is still quite a bit distanced from and behind the Finnish Black Metal legends.
Add frantic drums and a flair of dissonance to the riffs, and all these elements make the music of Gryla rather hard to compare, and certainly not your thirteenth in a dozen Norwegian Black Metal band. While for example the second part of the title track is more rooted in second wave Black Metal with raspy shrieks, in a song like ‘Banners Soaked in Crimson Essence’ we find ourselves slung from a groovy section to a subtle melodic solo and back into a blasting frenzy. ‘Imposer’ is then dissonant and choppy, with sudden changes in tempo, thundering drums and bellowing growls. These are just some examples of the varied soundscape that can be found on ‘The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass’, which admittedly, that also makes it somewhat harder to absorb. Without dwelling in the avantgarde, the balance between modern and classic Black Metal that ranges from ferociously overwhelming to groovy or downright melodic can be a bit frail. Torbjørn Kirby Torbo definitely deserves points for the right intention, interesting elements and catchy good riffs on the record, but there’s some room to grow for Gryla in terms of cohesion and consistency.
