This review’s going to be a quick one—after all, it’d be hard to spend too much time on the new split from Grá and Gnosis of the Witch, which features just one track from each band. We’re only talking about fourteen minutes of music here. For all the vinyl collectors out there, this will be a super limited pressing that will be sold exclusively through Iron Bonehead, so make sure to break out your mom’s credit card before purchasing.

The first side of the 7″ features Stockholm vets Grá, with a tune called “Valitus ja kaipuu.” Their contribution is, to say the least…raw. Fans of darkly shadowed, underground black metal will be chomping at the bit to replace their needles in the wide grooves of this side. At roughly six minutes, “Valitus ja kaipuu” features a spooky intro, European-style blastbeats and a rather lovely string interlude. The track itself builds and decays rapidly while traversing a vast chasm of emotion. It is, though, a bit raw for my taste, with recording quality akin to what could be reproduced by a few aluminum cans tied together by Twizzlers and hung on the ceiling of a busy overpass. But don’t let my hang-ups deter you!

Gnosis of the Witch, a relatively young band hailing from an undisclosed location here in the States, feature on the flip side with their track, “Fórn Dauðaorð.” Clocking in at just under seven-minutes, this song has more of a straight-ahead black metal feel. The track surges along with European blasts and screaming melodies in a chaotic assault that last for roughly the first five-minutes, then slowly unravels and restructures itself with heavier guitar patterns.

The production quality on Side B is much improved from the opposite side. The metal itself, however, is still a bit too one-note for me.

-Manny-O-War

The Grá / Gnosis of the Witch split 7″ will be available April 27 on Iron Bonehead Productions. For more information on Grá and Gnosis of the Witch, visit the bands’ Facebook pages.