Album Review: The Grey – Kodok (Majestic Mountain Records)

The Grey, the UK post-metal band, is back with their third album, ‘Kodok’, out now via Majestic Mountain Records.

A very dynamic listen that pushes familiar post-metal elements in heavier directions, while having colourful melody, and showcasing a vibrancy that gives the whole thing so much more life.

Six tracks long, but with some expressive tomes on show, Kodak is the epitome of a musical journey. Where a myriad of sounds is reflective of a myriad of feelings that most will feel at some point in their lives. The highs and lows of life, in all their raw and honest glory. It’s a rare thing to feel a connection as strong as the one felt here as this is so often portrayed as instrumental music, but that’s The Grey for you.

They deliver an unforgettable listening experience here and it begins in powerful (and dramatic) fashion with Painted Lady. The Grey hitting listeners with an expansive track that flows expertly between doomy intensity, gloomy melodies, post-infused vitality, and a hell of a lot of atmosphere. Every instrument shines, with the structure of this track and how it plays ensuring attentions are wholly focused on it, and the Grey, throughout.

Putting it simply, this track will immerse, and there’s very little that will distract as the album goes on. Least of all the creeping force and dark elaboration that comes from the thrilling La Bruja (Cygnus). If you want to understand how an album like this can feel so vital, it’s tracks like this you need to hear. Although the psychedelic twist in the latter half is something of a challenge.

Sharpen the Knife, which features Grady Avenell from Will Haven, is the only track with ‘traditional’ vocals, even if the screams and howls are quite the opposite. What they do is give this track an edge, serrated and dangerous, but this is another track that develops in unexpected ways. The Grey at their filthiest.

CHVRCH then comes along and with it comes big melodies and deep doominess, warped by a constantly shifting style of post harmonisation. It’s fascinating, and you’ll feel a myriad of emotions, but it’s also a track you can head bang to. It’s nine-plus minute runtime disappearing in a truly memorable instant.

Such an experience needs a moment for pause, but when something as emotionally captivating as the following Don’t Say Goodbye comes along, that isn’t a possibility. Oof, this one will cut deep, but so will the more ‘traditional’ post sound that the finale of AFG offers. It’s a melodic beast of a track, and a worthy finale to such an immense album.

The Grey – Kodak Track Listing:

1. Painted Lady
2. La Bruja (Cygnus)
3. Sharpen The Knife
4. CHVRCH
5. Don’t Say Goodbye
6. AFG

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Majestic Mountain Records