J-Man
Drawing inspiration from old school death, thrash, and black metal, the self-titled EP from the Danish collective known as Grimmthurs is a short, satisfying, and devastating blow to the face that should leave most extreme metal enthusiasts begging for more. Although the music we're dealing with here isn't totally earth-shattering from a stylistic perspective, Grimmthurs's old school aesthetic is instantly likeable and the riffs used on this EP have a level of memorability that surpasses most of their contemporaries.
Grimmthurs is primarily a death metal release, but some of the riffs (like the ones in "Faeton") have been clearly influenced by thrash metal tradition. The opening track, "Morgengry", sounds inspired by death/doom and there's also some black metal blasting in "LSH", so it's clear that Grimmthurs borrows influence from more than one style of extreme metal on this EP. This is still mostly a death metal release, though, and fans of the genre will be delighted to know that the music is held to a high level of quality from start to finish. The musicianship is strong across the board, with guitarists Lars Pedersen and fellow writer Kim Ebensgaard Jensen dishing out great riffage and leads from all fronts. The production doesn't sound fully professional to me, but its raw aesthetic and fat lower end still manage to suit Grimmthurs's music really well.
All in all, Grimmthurs does exactly what a great EP should do - it gives a good preview of what the band is like, and it makes me very curious to hear what they'll have to offer in a full-length format. Though it's a bit on the short side, I don't think any fan of death metal would regret hearing what Grimmthurs has to offer here.