IRON GRIFFIN "Curse of the Sky"

IRON GRIFFIN

 “Curse of the Sky”

Here’s the latest attempt to recreate a 70’s metal vibe. This is becoming a trend on the level of mumble rap and beard bands trying to knock off Clutch. This time the guilty party is Finnish metalhead Oskari Räsänen, a driving force in the well-regarded Mausoleum Gate. Mausoleum Gate is itself something of a throwback band, but Iron Griffin is reaching back even further in time, to early 70’s bands like Armageddon, Iron Claw and more.

“Curse of the Sky” leaves me firmly in the middle as far as support goes. The record has its moments where it does seem to reach some of the foggy proto metal/hard prog glory, but there are also a lot of “meh” bits as well. One thing to note here is that the band features a female vocalist, Maija Tiljander. Maija has some powerful pipes and sings in a bombastic kind of Grace Slick/Janis Joplin style. There are times, though, where it just comes across as a bit too forced and over the top. The tone is good but the way its employed leaves something to be desired.

The production work here is so musty you feel like blowing a cloud of dust off your ears when you hear it. It captures with fidelity the low budget analog style of the early 70’s. This is being done quite a bit now and is no longer as startling as it once was. The songs are a combo of epic early metal and gloomy, proggy doom. A flute pops up now and then and the tone is very organic. But while nothing here is horrible, nothing also seems to be exceptional. That’s where we have to leave Iron Griffin and “Curse of the Sky” for now. Worth a look if you’re a buy-all for early 70’s proto-metal.

GATES OF HELL

IRON GRIFFIN