Grand Magus
| Grand Magus | |
|---|---|
 Grand Magus at Headbangers Open Air 2014 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Stockholm , Sweden |
| Genre (s) | Stoner rock , doom metal , heavy metal |
| founding | 1996 |
| Website | www.grandmagus.com |
| Current occupation | |
Electric guitar, vocals |
Janne "JB" Christoffersson |
Electric bass |
Mats Fox Hedén Skinner |
Drums |
Ludwig Witt
(since 2012) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Fredrik "Trisse" Liefvendahl (1998 to 2006) |
Drums |
Sebastian "Seb" Sippola (2006 to 2012) |
Grand Magus is a heavy metal band from Stockholm .
history
Singer and guitarist Janne "JB" Christoffersson founded Grand Magus in 1996 under the name Smak. After the band's drummer called "Iggy" left, Christoffersson and bassist Mats "Fox" Hedén Skinner decided to play harder, more metal-oriented music. With Fredrik “Trisse” Liefvendahl, the two musicians found a corresponding addition via a notice in a local pub . With this line-up, Smak recorded the demo Firepower 99 ' and sent it to several labels . Music for Nations then requested further sample material from the group. The band sent the second demo tape Demo Two Thousand as Grand Magus to Music for Nations. However, the label staff found the music "too heavy" for their own catalog, whereupon the demo recordings were forwarded to the Lee Dorrian- led doom metal label Rise Above Records , with which Music for Nations had a contract. Rise Above Records expressed interest but did not sign a deal. Meanwhile, Mike Amott received the second demo from Spiritual Beggars through a mutual acquaintance. When Greg Anderson of Southern Lord Spiritual Beggars suggested the release of a split single shortly afterwards , Amott chose Grand Magus as a partner for the 2001 single It's over . At the same time, the band worked on their material to introduce themselves to other companies, as there was no response from Rise Above. Only after Grand Magus had recorded and distributed a pre-album demo did Rise Above approach the band again with a request for more audio samples. Grand Magus sent the label the latest demo and received a contract within a week. The self-titled debut album was released in late 2001 via Rise Above.
The recordings for Grand Magus took place at Das Boot Studios in Stockholm. The Dismember -Schlagzeuger Fred Estby produced , mixed and mastered the album. When it was released, the album received mostly mediocre ratings. Andreas Himmelstein described the music in a review written for Rock Hard as “a little too tough in the long run” and awarded six out of ten possible points. Brian O'Neill awarded three stars out of a possible five in a review written for the Allmusic webzine . In comparison, Metal Hammer magazine named Grand Magus album of the month with six out of seven possible points. A success that some of the following albums could build on. The Metal Hammer editorial team named Iron Will 2008, Hammer of the North 2010 and The Hunt 2012 and Triumph and Power 2014 as the albums of their respective release months.
Grand Magus remained under contract with Rise Above until 2008 and recorded the albums Monument , Wolf's Return and Iron Will for the label after their debut . In the meantime the band embarked on a multi-week European tour with Cathedral and Electric Wizard in winter 2005/2006 . After this tour, drummer Liefvendahl left the band and was replaced by Sebastian "SEB" Sippola. In 2007 the group performed with Candlemass in Stockholm, Athens and the UK before recording the album Iron Will in September . The album was released in June 2008 after the band had opened appearances for Primordial and at the Roadburn Festival . Iron Will , with whom Grand Magus ended their partnership with Rise Above, was received in two ways. While the album was voted album of the month by the editors of Metal Hammer with seven out of seven points and was also voted album of the month by the editors of Rock Hard , it only received three out of ten points on Metal.de and was named " boring, troubled [and] uninspired ”. Greg Prato, on the other hand, awarded two and a half out of five possible points in his review written for Allmusic and describes it, alluding to True Metal and Manowar , as the perfect soundtrack for trying on a furry loincloth or doing a few sets of bench presses .
Following the release of Iron Will , the band made Europe-wide festival appearances and several tours. Including a Germany and Great Britain tour, as well as appearances at the Swedish Sweden Rock Festival , the German Rock Hard Festival , Wacken Open Air , Summer Breeze , the British Hammerfest , the French Hellfest and the Norwegian Inferno Festival . At the end of 2009, the group then announced that it had signed a contract with Roadrunner Records . With Hammer of the North the announced album was released in June 2010 via Roadrunner Records. Once again, the reviews were largely positive. Especially in Metal Hammer and Rock Hard, the album was highly praised as album of the month. Mediocre reviews such as Eduardo Rivadavia's for Allmusic, however, were rare. In addition, the album reached 42nd place in the German album charts . A success that Grand Magus was able to expand with the following albums. More concerts followed. Among other things, appearances in the support program for the European tour of Motörhead and Doro Pesch 2010. As well as joint tour activities with Bullet , Steelwing , Skull Fist and Vanderbuyst .
In order to devote himself more to his family, drummer Sippola left the band in April 2012 while the band was in the process of producing the next album. Ludwig Witt von Shining and Spiritual Beggars joined Grand Magus as a replacement . In May 2012 The Hunt was released via Napalm Records , through which Grand Magus also released the following albums Triumph and Power , Sword Songs and Wolf God . The albums hit the German, Swiss and Austrian album charts. The reception of the albums also remained largely positive. In Metal Hammer in particular, various albums by the band were voted album of the month.
style
During their early career, the band varied their style with each release. The musicians described the variations between the Stoner Rock presented on the debut , the Doom Metal played on Monument and the Heavy Metal, which increased with the following releases, as a reaction to the immediately preceding release.
“We've changed throughout our career. I think our albums have been reactions to what we've done before. When we'd done our previous album 'Monument' we kind of felt that it was as heavy and slow as we wanted to make an album and decided to try and do faster and more aggressive stuff for the next one. We're not afraid to take chances and we also need to keep ourselves interested. I'm sure the next one will be different from 'Wolf's Return' [.] "
“We have changed constantly in our career. I think our albums reacted to what we did before. When we did 'Monument' we felt like it was as heavy and slow as we wanted to make an album. So we decided to make the next album faster and more aggressive. We are not afraid of change and we want to stay interested. I'm sure that the next album will be different from 'Wolf's Return' [.] "
With later releases, the band, contrary to the statement made by Christoffersson, consolidated a style based on classic heavy metal, which the band varied in nuances, but retained its essence from then on. In reviews, Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio are mostly cited as a comparison, in particular the albums Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell are named here as a point of reference. Occasionally, the early Manowar are cited as an additional benchmark.
Band members
- Grand Magus live at Rockharz 2019
Singer and guitarist Janne "JB" Christoffersson
Bass player Mats Fox Hedén Skinner
Drummer Ludwig Witt
Discography
Albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 SE
|
|||
| 2001 | Grand Magus Rise Above |
- | - | - | - |
First published: November 5, 2001
|
| 2003 | Monument Rise Above |
- | - | - | - |
First published: November 25, 2003
|
| 2005 | Wolf's Return Rise Above |
- | - | - | - |
First published: June 14, 2005
|
| 2008 | Iron Will Rise Above |
- | - | - | - |
First published: June 9, 2008
|
| 2010 | Hammer of the North Roadrunner Records |
DE42 (2 weeks) DE |
AT73 (1 week) AT |
- | - |
First published: June 21, 2010
|
| 2012 | The Hunt Nuclear Blast |
DE42 (1 week) DE |
AT68 (1 week) AT |
CH76 (1 week) CH |
SE49 (1 week) SE |
First published: May 25, 2013
|
| 2014 | Triumph and Power Nuclear Blast |
DE21 (2 weeks) DE |
AT36 (1 week) AT |
CH59 (1 week) CH |
- |
First published: January 31, 2014
|
| 2016 | Sword Songs Nuclear Blast |
DE30 (2 weeks) DE |
AT59 (1 week) AT |
CH47 (1 week) CH |
- |
First published: May 13, 2016
|
| 2019 | Wolf God Nuclear Blast |
DE24 (3 weeks) DE |
AT59 (1 week) AT |
CH34 (1 week) CH |
- |
First published: April 19, 2019
|
Split
- 2001: It's Over ( Split with Spiritual Beggars , Southern Lord )
Singles
- 2010: Hammer of the North (Roadrunner Records)
- 2010: At Midnight They'll Get Wise (Roadrunner Records)
- 2013: Triumph and Power (Nuclear Blast)
Demos
- 1999: Firepower 99 ' (self-published)
- 2000: Demo Two Thousand (self-published)
Web links
- Official website
- Chart sources: Germany / Austria / Switzerland / Sweden
swell
- ↑ Chris Barnes: Interview. Custom Heavy. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ^ Andreas Himmelstein: Grand Magus: Grand Magus. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ^ Brian O'Neill: Grand Magus: Grand Magus. Allmusic, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Matthias Mineur: Grand Magus: Grand Magus - Album of the Month. Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Katrin Riedl: Grand Magus: Triumph and Power. Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Markus: CATHEDRAL, ELECTRIC WIZARD and GRAND MAGUS on February 20th, 2006 in the Live Music Hall Cologne. Vampster, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Elvis: Interview with Sebastian "SEB" Sippola from Grand Magus. Bleeding 4 Metal, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d News & Archive. Grand Magus, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Petra Schurer: Grand Magus: Iron Will. Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Götz Kühnemund: Grand Magus: Iron Will. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Conni: Grand Magus: Iron Will. Metal.de, accessed on June 26, 2018 .
- ^ Greg Prato: Grand Magus: Iron Will. Allmusic, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund: Grand Magus: Hammer of the North. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ^ Greg Eduardo Rivadavia: Grand Magus: Hammer of the North. Allmusic, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ News: Drummer change at Grand Magus. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Götz Kühnemund: Grand Magus: The Hunt. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Grand Magus: The Hunt. Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund: Grand Magus: Triumph and Power. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Boris Kaiser: Grand Magus: Sword Song. Rock Hard, accessed June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Lothar Gerber: Grand Magus: Sword Song. Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Wesley: Grand Magus - Aliens, Pasta & Sabers. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .