Grand Lux - Carved In Stone
Ulterium Records
Heavy Metal
10 songs (39'00)
Release year: 2007
Grand Lux, Ulterium Records
Reviewed by Crims

Grand Lux is a young band out of Norway featuring Kirk Evin (guitars and vocals), B.D. Hughes (guitars and vocals), Ran-Dee (drums), Zack Rament (bass), and Phil Goode (vocals). Carved In Stone is the bands second full-length release following 2005’s Iron Will. Grand Lux plays traditional/classic Heavy Metal with nods to various classic Metal bands as well as containing Hard Rock influences. Though the CD starts off and ends very well, the music in between leaves a little bit to be desired.

Musical influences for the band are somewhat varied. I can hear quite a bit of Dio, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and even Kiss. The music is mostly mid-paced with occasional fast songs such as 1000 Paper Planes; however the norm is mid-paced tempos, which is where the Dio influence is most commonly heard. A strong point is a strong variation in riff styles. Everything from Hard Rock riffs reminiscent of older Judas Priest mixed with Kiss (Live Hail From Blue Sky) to vaguely Stoner Metal mixed with Maiden harmonies (Through Dirt) can be heard. Vocally Phil Goode has a mid-range style which is capable of going into higher registers, but more importantly he has a slightly gruff tone. While not exactly Udo Dirkschneider the style fits the bands music perfectly. There is great use of double vocal tracks on 1000 Paper Planes and I would really like to have heard more of that throughout the CD to give it some much needed depth.

The biggest problem I have with this CD is the song writing. Sure, there are some solid riffs and good guitar melodies but as I listen more and more to the CD there are some glaring deficiencies. The first of which is that the music is too mid-paced. I’m not saying every song has to be a double bass monster (in fact none are) but to have practically every song with a mid-tempo, laid-back feeling to it becomes tiresome. A staple of classic Metal is up-tempo rhythms and in reality only Eternity In Fire and 1000 Paper Planes really fall into this category. Even the songs that should be considered up-tempo and fast such as Through Dirt never really get off of the ground from a guitar stand-point even though the drum rhythm is fast. This perhaps wouldn’t be so much of a problem except that the mid-paced songs aren’t that interesting and really fail to inspire many positive emotions. The main guilty culprit here is the choruses; the melody and pacing in the vocals during choruses is usually poor (though with Eternity In Fire there is a great Primal Fear vibe to the chorus). With the exception of Rainbows End I did not find many of the choruses on the mid-paced tracks catchy, memorable, or pleasing. I’ve listened to this CD about eight times now and nothing about the choruses grabs my attention or makes me want to sing a long and this type of Metal usually does that to me. Also, when listening to the songs on an individual basis I did tend to enjoy them more than when I listened to the CD all the way through in one sitting, but I think the problems become more readily apparent when listening to multiple songs with the same issues.

It should be stated that Grand Lux consider themselves a live band first and a studio band second. I have to admit that even though I found mostly everything on this CD barely above average I would probably still go see them live. It’s easy for me to picture live performances of these songs having more energy, more speed, and more of a raw feeling that would really benefit practically every song. The main point here is that I was left with a lackluster feeling mostly because the guitars usually have the right idea but the song writing as a whole is not refined enough, nor the melodies catchy enough to warrant repeated listens; but once again evidence of superior live versions of these songs are somewhat available and I hope with future releases the energy this band allegedly eschews during live shows can translate better into their studio work. It's difficult for me to recommend this CD to all but the most dedicated Heavy Metal listeners.

Killing Songs :
1000 Paper Planes, Eternity In Fire, Rainbow's End
Crims quoted 60 / 100
Ken quoted 65 / 100
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