Let me take a deep breath… usually the words "symphonic" and "Black Metal" are in nowadays exactly the same meaning as a "big failure and done thousands times before with better results". Add to the formula the "All star" and "Norwegian" words and I am about to puke. Really. I do not care who is involved in a band. In fact I do not care where they are from or what their backgrounds are. All that I care is the music. And this must be done with very few but vital elements for a Metalhead: to impact, to make you move your head and raise a fist into the air and do a devil horn with the other hand. If music makes you do that, then you know it is good… your soul knows it is good. So imagine when I opened the press kit with info falling all in the dreaded category… still, I must be one that hopes that someone will do something right in a style that has nothing more to offer… and GROMTH is just… well… another band. In fact, I would say they are a lot more "Symphonic" than "Metal" as the band has done also the entire CD in an orchestral version. If this was a musical score for an action sci-fi movie or even a horror / suspense thing, it will fit great. But as solely a musical entity, something is missing. Yes, they do have monster production values, all the musicians are great, there are some smart ideas here and there… and yet they still have done nothing new. But if you look at it in a different angle, music score lovers with an attraction for obscure Metal might get it better. Symphonic Black Metal fans will also love it. Me, I am in the hunt for the next Death / Black / Thrash abomination that uses no keyboards and has rawer production values. And yes, I do not care for originality. All I need is something that makes me bang my head, and do devil horns in a way I do not even take notice until I am doing it. www.gromth.net, www.myspace.com/gromth