Commitment to the bit is no strange philosophy for black metal bands.  This is, after all, a genre that gets frequently, and justifiably, lampooned for taking itself seriously to a fault.  But then again, who actually wants to listen to wishy-washy black metal that never fully commits to anything (as long as that something is not…you know, *bad*)?  We need black metal to straddle that line if it’s to be enjoyed at all.  Enter Grylle, the medieval themed black metal band that straddles that line very nicely and takes commitment to the level one would expect of a PhD-level historian on Egrotants, Souffreteux, Cacochymes, Covidards.

Grylle is entering their eleventh year as a band, and while Egrotants, Souffreteux, Cacochymes, Covidards is only their second release, they’ve done a good job making a name for themselves by their aforementioned commitment.  It’s one thing to write black metal that has lyrics or even melodic ideas that borrow from medieval history and culture, but Grylle are actually about that life: no synthesizers, no samples, no guitars, no modern instruments.  Their music is done on lutes, psalterions, citoles, flutes, pipes, brass and other eclectic instruments.  Even the bass and drums are period-authentic.  However, if you’re betting that this doesn’t sound like black metal, you’d be wrong.  Liberal amounts of distortion and the requisite retched vocals bring the ancient instrumentation into the modern day (or, at least, Scandinavia in the late 90s/early 00s).  Sonically, it’s a very cool mix of old-school and older-school, with an attention to detail that shows real scholarly aptitude of both medieval music and black metal.  Even the cover art was created in the medieval style of an illuminated manuscript.  Lyrically, the album is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek and satirical look at plagues, diseases, afflictions and the other acts of nature that unite us with our medieval ancestors (“covidards,” to the best of my sleuthing skills, translates literally as “COVID-afflicted”).  Perhaps that makes the album a little in poor taste, but it’s also meant to be humorous in its own way, so take that for what you will.

Have you ever heard a lute with distortion slathered all over it?  I mean, with Botanist we’ve got hammered dulcimer with distortion, so I guess this isn’t the wildest thing I’ve ever heard.  It is quite an interesting texture, though, almost like a chorus effect like you’d find on a 12-string guitar, and to have black metal played on such an instrument is a unique and fascinating choice.  Overall, Egrotants (etc) is on the more melodic side of black metal, and in those melodies you really get the medieval theme beaten in, if you haven’t already.  This is a band that very clearly knows their stuff, and knows how to execute it to a very high degree of success.  I’ll be honest, I was expecting this to be, not worse, but more insincere in its execution, and it really is a very faithful amalgamation of the two distinct styles and eras.  Every detail, from the lutes to the woodwinds and brass, to the choirs and all the weird extra instruments and even the bass and drums, are all very much faithful to the core philosophy of the band.  The latter two, especially, really serve to ground the whole affair in black metal, with blast beats and melodic, ever-so-slightly proggy bass lines keeping things modern while the lutes, psalterions and citoles go off into the stratosphere.  Of course, there’s also the howled dual vocal styling of Hyver and La Griesche hurling French vitriol at you that reminds one that this is, indeed, black metal at its heart.  

The commitment here is outstanding, and I have to hand it to Grylle for seeing it all the way through, from the cover art to the instrumentation to the finished product.  Egrotants, Souffreteux, Cacochymes, Covidards is one of those surprise almost-year-end releases that remind me you can never count good music out just because the first droppings of list season are upon us.

— Ian

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Egrotants, Souffreteux, Cacochymes, Covidards is available now on Antiq Records.  For more information on Grylle, visit their Facebook page.