The Grand Mal - The Grand Mal II
APF Records - November 2022
Stoner, hard rock, grunge
Rated: *****
The follow up to Oxford rockers The Grand Mal's 2019 debut is, without exaggeration, my most anticipated album of the past couple years, and "The Grand Mall II" does not disappoint. Building off their rock-solid, blues and stoner informed belter of a first record, the Oxford lads' sophomore effort retains their hard-hitting energy while further refining and tweaking the sound with new wrinkles and somehow even more swagger. The songs ooze with attitude, in large part thanks to the one-of-a-kind vocal performance of singer Dave-O, whose sneering high notes are reminiscent of Ozzy, but with a punk edge that offers an extra bite. An added nuance is his use of hushed tones in between clean croons and all-out belting, an approach that ratchets up the anticipation for the next big riff when contrasted with the bombshell drumming and churning guitar (see "Shallow" for a prime example). And hot damn, those riffs. Lee Cressey and Ryan Cole serve them up blistering hot, stomping out barnstormers like the adrenaline-fueled "Petit Mal" and winding through infectious grooves a la Clutch in "Seas of Glory". Not to mention possibly the heaviest cut on the album, "Hellbound Blues", an unrelenting facemelter that grinds and pushes, only taking a breath for a funky, bluesy chorus before diving back in. As much as it's a guitar-driven rock album, of course "II" owes much of its heft and inexhaustible energy to the rhythm section of drummer (and Cole twin) Elliot and bassist Rob Glen. From the clattering madcap percussion of "Petit Mal" to the authoritative and crisp work on "Seas of Glory", the drums make themselves known with volume and force, driving each track forward like a battering ram while the slabs of bass lay down sinister groove after groove and hold up the band's wall of sound without breaking a sweat. Not satisfied with just cranking out A-one heavy, though, The Grand Mal sprinkle in shorter cuts and interludes throughout "II", creating beautiful transitions between rockers with the bright and shimmering instrumental "The Lingering" and the spacey, grandiose "Empire of Vultures", which leads into the Led Zeppelin acoustic epic "Bloodmoon" to close out the album with class. The Grand Mal's sophomore work is confident, experimental in all the right places, and groovy as can be. This is how heavy modern rock is done, people.
(Written by Kyle SB / Shastabeast)
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