Hoo-ray! It’s the first cinemetal round-up of 2011! Let’s see who made me pissy today.

First up we have “Hammer of the North,” from Grand Magus. It’s just a performance clip, but as far as performance clips (or “perflips,” as they’re known in the biz) go, it’s not bad — I mean, the song is catchy, which helps, and the footage is basically well shot, and clearly at least a little bit of thought went into the editing (all the cuts are on drum beats), so that’s good. In fact, I almost wish they’d taken out all the shit with the forest and the wolf at the beginning, because I kept thinking it was gonna come back and be important, but it doesn’t come back ’til the end, by which point its placement seems as arbitrary as at the start. So as it stands, it almost seems like the video was supposed to be something else, or maybe they didn’t have confidence in the video — “Oh, this sucks, we’d better throw a random shot of a wolf in there somewhere.”

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The announcement that Swedish trad metallers Grand Magus had signed with Roadrunner Records was a tad surprising given that label’s recent inclination towards either a) already developed acts with a legacy (Korn, Ratt), or b) more mainstream hard rock and metal acts. But hey, who’s complaining? If the success of every Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman means the label can take a chance on bands like Grand Magus and Baptized in Blood — and gives those bands the opportunity to record with a decent budget without forcing them to make artistic sacrifices — then hey, I’m for it.

We’ll find out how Grand Magus fair in the mainstream metal world when they release their Roadrunner debut Hammer of the North on June 23rd, but all indications from hearing the title track of the album are that they’re going to be just fine. I love the giant-sized bass tone and the thickness it lends the mammoth riffs, and vocalist Janne “JB” Christoffersson voice complements them perfectly to give the song a powerfully dark yet somehow epic feel. Dare I say JB reminds me a bit of Dio when he hits his upper register? Watch the new video for “Hammer of the North” below.

Listen to the older Grand magus song “Like the Oar Strikes the Water” here.

-VN

After the fracas that ensued following my post about the supposed non-metal future of Roadrunner Records, it would appear that Roadrunner Records hasn’t given up on metal after all. In the past week they’ve announced two brand new metal signings, which would seemingly indicate that Roadrunner is going to try and forge ahead with metal while also building up their non-metal roster.

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It’s not exactly clear precisely what type of classic metal sound Grand Magus are trying to revive so much as they’re trying to revive something classic, and that something sounds damn good. It sure as hell ain’t another thrash re-hash in hi-tops and eBay-bought Exodus t-shirts, which is a great thing. There’s trace elements of Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Thin Lizzy and a smattering of other classic metal influences here, but the production and delivery don’t sound dated and the vocals are more Phil Anselmo in Down than anything older. Good songs you can bang your head to as you whittle the day away at your humble desk job.

Check out Grand Magus on MySpace. Also listen to (and download) their song “Like the Oar Strikes the Water” below.

Grand Magus – “Like the Oar Strikes the Water”

-VN