Grand Magus release new video; new album Sunraven out today via Nuclear Blast Records
Swedish kings of honest and unadorned heavy metal, GRAND MAGUS, are proud to unleash their 10th studio album, Sunraven, on the world today (Nuclear Blast Records).
In celebration, the trio have released a music video for its powerful title track, 'Sunraven', which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/_LCkYX8foTY
Purchase or listen to Sunraven here: https://grandmagus.bfan.link/sunraven.ema
Sunraven is a concept album dealing with the legendary poem Beowulf, an ancient tale of epic proportions about heroes and monsters, honor and bravery, victory and defeat. In short, themes that have always played an important role in the lyrical concept of GRAND MAGUS.
Sunraven takes the band’s music to a new level of cinematic boldness and heroic abandon, with numerous new anthems that the faithful are destined to embrace with enthusiasm. Still flying the flag for purity of intent in a cynical world, GRAND MAGUS are weather-beaten veterans on the hard road to heavy metal glory. Dragons beware. Judgement is coming.
Not every band can be 100 percent authentic and true. Not every band has the necessary cojones to summon the spirit of heavy metal. But Grand Magus are not every band. A trio of windswept warriors, driven by belief in the power of this ageless music that so many of us consider a real world lifeline, they return in 2024 with glad tidings of heroism and valour.
Over the course of 25 years, the Swedish trio have established themselves as stoic standard bearers for heavy metal in its purest, most triumphant form. From their early years as honorary combatants in the doom scene, Grand Magus have grown in confidence and stature with every passing year. Initially signed to legendary UK imprint Rise Above Records, they released acclaimed albums like 2003’s Monument and 2005’s fiery breakthrough opus Wolf’s Return, and garnered effusive plaudits for live shows that always resounded with the thump of metal’s beating heart.
Later signed to Roadrunner and then Nuclear Blast Records, Grand Magus have marched on through the decades with their now trademark sign, a continual benchmark for red-blooded heaviness. Bulging with fresh anthems, albums like Triumph & Power (2014) and Sword Songs (2016) took the band to new heights, as their status as a thunderous, rabble-rousing live band continued to grow. In 2019, ninth studio album Wolf God put the seal on a second decade of active service, and Grand Magus set off on tour as 2020 dawned; only to be confronted with a worldwide Covid shutdown that might have even spelled the end for Stockholm’s finest.
When work finally began on the tenth Grand Magus album, JB made tentative steps towards something bigger and better than past achievements. With a final deadline waiting at the end of 2023, he began to piece together some ideas in January, slowly forming the backbone of what would become the new Grand Magus album, Sunraven. After reconvening with bassist Fox and drummer Ludwig Witt in Halmstad, Sweden, the new songs swiftly came to life.
Not just the tenth Grand Magus full-length, but their first bona fide concept album, Sunraven is a full-bore return to the heavy metal might of Wolf God and Sword Songs, but with an underlying story that adds greater depth to the Swedes’ earthy bombast. Made manifest via a gritty but grandiose production courtesy of the band and co-producer Staffan Karlsson, Sunraven was inspired by the revered Old English epic poem of Beowulf. In true heavy metal style, these nine new songs dive deep into heroic fantasy, but with the same real world resonances that are scorched into the genre’s calloused skin.
Grand Magus are:
Janne "JB" Christoffersson – guitars, lead vocals
Mats "Fox" Skinner – bass, backing vocals
Ludwig "Ludde" Witt – drums
Grand Magus online:
https://www.facebook.com/grandmagusofficial
https://www.instagram.com/grandmagusband
https://www.grandmagus.com