Metal Underground.com

Band names are important, if just for the pre-judging they elicit. Never heard Rotting Christ? Would you believe they are German power metal? Me either. So a decade ago, instead of naming itself something like Riff Monster (good choice), Grand Magus was a bit more optimistic. The band’s moniker conjures every metal fan’s ultimate fantasy: four Tony Iommi’s - one for each instrument and vox, of course – cranking away on our quivering, submissive brains. And while any mortal band would be hard-pressed to live up to that particular fantasy, Grand Magus gives it a real good try.

The first thing that stands out about Grand Magus’ self-titled, and in this case re-issued by Metal Blade, debut album is how much they sound like Soundgarden. Be it the guitar tones, vocalist JB’s Chris Cornell-like shouts and croons, or just the (relatively for doom) short songs of sludgy-doomy-bluesy hard rock, these guys are a pretty good followers of aural plant noise. But since Soundgarden itself owes a lot to Mr. Iommi, Grand Magus does too. Particularly in the extended blues licks that wind through each track like a drunk John Lee Hooker.

“Black Hound of Vengeance” combines Temple of the Dog-era Cornell wails with distorted Kenny Wayne Shepherd licks into meaty and tender slow-cooked beef. “Coat of Arms” sneaks a little Hammond Organ into the mix, JB’s vocals are now David-Allen-Coe-meets-a-calm-Phil-Anselmo, and JB’s riffs (he does double duty) wander toward Skynyrd. I could go on like this all day, finding different blues-doom-southern-sludge stars and mixing them together into interesting combos. “Generator” is a fine “Ultramega OK” ballad outtake(!), but I’ll stop.

But let’s not get carried away with the Soundgarden thing. The band has (finally) reformed, and Grand Magus is just a fan, not a tribute band. This is a blues-doom trio that pounds out great riff after great riff with a strict adherence to Occam’s Razor. From the bass crawl of “Lodbrok,” to the speedy pep of “Legion,” and all the way back to the brief, syncopated and drum-driven atmospherics of the album closing eponymous title track, Grand Magus isn’t an Iommi clone, but the band sure has got the rest of it down.