Grok - "A Spineless Descent" (Album Premiere)
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Old school black metal, at least in the second wave, is not all the sleaze and primitive stomp which the more conservative fans and detractors proclaim. Colorado one-man band Grok (also of Njiqahdda, Oaks of Bethel, Funeral Eclipse and more) follows a majestic, oft-ignored trail blazed decades ago (if you can believe that) by the likes of Dimmu Borgir, …And Oceans, and Thy Serpent. The mid-paced, melodic majesty of A Spineless Descent is as massive as it is frigid, the lo-fi buzz of E.’s simple, potent string and drum work buried under layers of shifting, crystalline keyboards. Grok’s debut is a stunning backwards glance to when the use of keyboards wasn’t such a taboo in less-polished substyles of black metal, a practice now “coming back in vogue” thanks to the hard work of labels like Tour de Garde, Out of Season, and Shunned House, but with a fresh, enlightened perspective from one of underground metal’s most creative minds. As winter’s frigid grasp closes tighter, immerse yourselves in the glacial, auroral might of Grok’s fitting seasonal soundtrack.
A Spineless Descent will be released this upcoming Friday, December 16th, on EEE Recordings, who are handling CD and digital formats, with an impending cassette pressing on Cloister Recordings US. Whispers of future editions are on a distant horizon, so keep your ear to the ground. Scroll below to hear Grok’s opening statement in its entirety. Embrace the cold and look into the past.
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Grok is not on social media, at least not yet.
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