I love this album cover. Not only is it well composed and aesthetically pleasing: it conveys an appropriate tone for the record. Much like our subject here, Grim Van Doom seem to be one with the wooly mammoth. It’s not so much a hunt or tethering relationship as a Shamanistic mutual respect. The result is a huge, lumbering sound that is just dripping with groove.
Now be warned, when you hop on top of this beast it will get you where you are going, but it’s going to take some time. GVD play a particularly doom brand of grimy sludge metal. And while it may not be fast, this is made up for in volume. Simple riffs will be played in violent, string breaking strokes knocking over everything in its path. “Butchr” and a few other tracks remind me of Will Haven’s Carpe Diem days.
The vocals are brimming with hardcore fury. I generally go in for as much variety as possible in the vox department. Big Mike Patton fan to say the least. But when the delivery is this aggressive, I am more than okay with keeping things simple. There are a few moments where the anger dials up the performance into a black metal-tinged shriek. In any case, dude is pissed.
All said and done, Grim Love is a gigantic sound with some crunchy, southern-fried riffs and harsh delivery. Mind your step or you’re likely to be impaled on a mega-sized tusk. From “Snowfields” to the excellent bonus track, “Child of Light,” Grim Van Doom have created another successful entry into the sludge metal genre. Pick it up before they go extinct.