Stockholm, Sweden based Heavy/Doom Metal trio Grand Magus premiere new single and official music video “Skybound.” Available now on all major streaming platforms. Watch the official music video through the youtube player below:
“Skybound” is the first single taken from the band’s forthcoming album, “Sunraven,” due out on October 18th, 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Acclaimed Heavy Metal battering ram Grand Magus from Stockholm, Sweden are pleased to announce that their brand new album “Sunraven” will be released on October 18th through Nuclear Blast Records. “Sunraven” marks the 10th full-length in the band’s impressive discography and conceptually deals 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.
JB (vocals & guitar) commented: “‘Skybound’ is obviously a song about death and going to Valhalla. That’s where Beowulf ended up in the end, because after he defeated Grendel and Grendel’s mother, he was king for 50 years! Then his lands were plagued by a dragon, and by this time Beowulf is fucking ancient, but he’s still mean as a snake. He goes against the dragon and he manages to kill the dragon, but he’s mortally wounded in the process. He’s sky-bound, you know? These are all my own ideas about this. I used the myth as starting point for my own ideas and imagination.”
About Grand Magus:
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 first 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.
Pre-Order/Pre-Save the new album “Sunraven“: https://grandmagus.bfan.link/sunraven
Tracklist:
01. Skybound
02. The Wheel Of Pain
03. Sunraven
04. Winter Storms
05. The Black Lake
06. Hour Of The Wolf
07. Grendel
08. To Heorot
09. The End Belongs To You
Lineup:
JB Christoffersson / Guitar, Vocals
Fox Skinner / Bass, Backing Vocals
Ludwig Witt / Drums
