Sammath – Grebbeberg
Release Date: 16th June 2023
Label: Hammerheart Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Extreme Metal.
FFO: 1914, Kanonenfieber, Emperor.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Intensity and fury are the terms that come to mind when I listen to Grebbeberg, Sammath’s new LP, set to release on June 16th, 2023 on Hammerheart Records. I think that the immediate thought I had when I first heard the demo track sent to me was how it seemed to catch my “ideal” black metal sound, something that eludes me as a death metal fan 80% of the time. I generally prefer a different palette for the ultimate rhythms of black metal, usually resorting to the surface-level blackened death or blackened deathcore. I was generally given a lesson in why I enjoy black metal by Sammath over this listen.
My requirements for an enjoyable black metal experience largely come down to two things, guitar melodies and vocal attack. I generally think that if either of these elements is missing, there is a general lack of coherence with the needs of the album. There are lots of albums which don’t have either, and still make it work. My point is just that there is something that we need to establish as the “bricks and mortar” of the black metal album. I think that Sammath hit the nail on the head with Grebbeberg.
Track after track, the pace was blisteringly fast, I mean fast. The thrash-factor of the album was just insane. I loved how each track wasn’t generally subject to the we’re so dark, we’re going to play a bunch of cave troll soundbytes, or the ridiculous cliché addition of Type O Negative husky chanting of Nordic pagan incantations. Grebbeberg is just pure black metal rage in stereo. I waited and waited for something cliché or cringeworthy, but I was pleasantly surprised that the album just seemed to “get it”, in a way that made me dig in deeper, something that I rarely experience with black metal.
The album is a concept album which is placed in the middle of the Second World War, specifically one of the lesser-known battles, Grebbeberg, which took place in May 1940 in The Netherlands. I wasn’t able to spend much time digging into this history of the battle before listening to this album, but I think that it ought to give me some insight. If there is anything that is going to make me want to learn about a subject, it’s one which can be told through the media of black metal. Perhaps, I ought to dive into some historical documentaries about the battle.
There are numerous moments which are very much “war black metal”, but don’t amount to cringe. I think that one could easily enjoy Sammath in the same way as one enjoys 1914 or Kanonenfieber, bands who’ve used the genre to tell true historical accounts of the horrors of world wars one and two (BTW, the cringe level is Iced Earth and Sabaton). Grebbeberg is wild and howling, extremely-violent in its tonal attack. The vocals are gritty, angry even; and that’s not just someone from the outside. I loved the vocal blend of the nasal and throaty high-pitched, gristly sound.
The guitar melodies are what sent me over the edge. I absolutely loved the guitars on Grebbeberg. They were wonderfully-melodic, having every bit of the black metal chord progressions I’ve come to love over the years. Instead of a boring, two-chord rhythm section, the diminished chords were full of flavor and ancient haunting melody. To the non black metal listeners, that’s the style which seems to have that “baroque”, minor/diminished chord melody that sounds like it should be played on an old pipe organ, like something out of Phantom of the Opera, or something. It’s just done so well. I think that the fury of the drums (especially on Murderous Artillery, track 3) accentuates that same attack.
Never getting boring, or relenting in its attack, Sammath’s Grebbeberg is one of the better black metal albums I’ve heard this year due to its historical significance and absolute crushing pace. 
(4 / 5)
