Country of origin:Sweden
Location:Stockholm
Status:Active
Formed in:2010

Genre:Black Metal
Lyrical themes:Ancient Scandinavian spirituality
Current label:Carnal Records
Years active:2010-present

Grá comes from a mixture of the Icelandic "grár" and the Swedish "grå", simply meaning "gray".

DISCOGRAPHY

current line up

Dimman Drums (2010-present)
See also: Veiled, ex-Cryptic Art, ex-Cursed 13, ex-Nocturnal Damnation, ex-Spazmosity, ex-When Nothing Remains, ex-Nocturnal Domination, ex-Wan, ex-Faceless, ex-Niðurdrepandi, ex-Saphier, ex-Ztringtroza
Heljarmadr Guitars, Vocals (2010-present)
See also: Dark Funeral, ex-Cursed 13, ex-Diabolic Lust, ex-Cursed 666, ex-Domgård, ex-Symphony of Malice (SWE)
Maugrim Bass (2012-2014), Guitars (2014-present)
See also: Vargagrav, ex-Cursed 13, ex-Hydra
Vediger Bass (2017-present)
See also: ex-Diabolic Lust, ex-Symphony of Malice (SWE)

PAST MEMBERS

Airikr Bass (2011), Guitars, Vocals (backing) (2011)
See also: Likfärd
RH Bass (2011)
See also: ex-Infuneral
Isengrim Guitars (2011-2013)
See also: SlaughterCoffin, Wan
Niantiel Guitars (2013-2014)
See also: Grafvitnir, ex-Cursed 13, ex-Leif Edling, ex-Fyrdung
Natt Guitars (2017)
See also: ex-Angrepp, ex-Dark Funeral, ex-Withershin

REVIEWS

Type:Full-length
Release date:November 25th, 2011Label:Unexploded Records
Format:CD "This album is dedicated to the inevitable, and necessary, bitter fucking End!"

A video was made for "Kraft".

Recording information:

Recorded, mixed and mastered at "The Gray Studios", Stockholm during June - August 2011.

Bleak, Dark and...Grey. - 100%
BlakWulfaz, October 14th, 2012
NextLast
Sweden has become my favorite country when it comes to black metal. The reason being is these bands do not compromise the sound they put out. The music is very genuine and rich with atmosphere. Gra is no exception. With their inception in 2010 along with an EP release of “Helfard”, they instantly captured my attention.

The dark production, and old-school sounds combined with traditional riffs and the true black metal approach to their music is something most bands lack these days. But of course, with the EP’s very short length, I was desperate to hear new music. With the release of the 2011 full length album “Gra”, I was given the opportunity…

With the initial opening of “Gra” it is very dark and eerie to say the least. The distant echoes of voices and the disturbing strings and winds provide the exact representation this album will give. The very first riff played is a very huge sigh of relief. The band sets out to once again portray the old-school mentality of black metal and here they have achieved what some these days in a sea of digital bands would say to be impossible. The monotonous and droning guitar riffs are excellent and simple, but simplicity when attacked with the right mindset can provide un-expecting results.

Growling bass tone and pummeling marching drums announce a transition into another attack of blackness. Kraft has one of the best black metal riffs I have heard in a very long time. It gives off the Black n Roll feel, but with much more emphasis on the black. More bands need to take notice of Gra’s music. Heljarmaðr’s vocals are excellent, they give a feeling of despair and agony in his voice as he spews his lyrical poison.

Darkness and black abysmal journeys is the best way to describe this album. The droning monotone riffs are so well executed it is really astonishing. In this new age of the internet, it almost felt as if the old “scary” feeling to black metal has long been buried but Gra said to hell with that and dug it up. They also express very melodic passages and clean guitars paving beautiful transitions of color between the darkness.

The song “Allt Ljus Fortvina” is definitely my favorite song on the album with its opening riff. It is so slow and dragging, and it only continues this energy with variations and slight transitions between riffs that the overall feeling of the song is still intact. Gra are very aware of what they are doing with their music. The sudden assault of blasting fury even keeps the initial feel of the songs opening which in my opinion as a musician myself is not easy to do to change the riff but still keep the same feel of the previous one.

Gra have crafted an album that was very much needed in the black metal scene. Along with the release of Domgard’s amazing “Myrkvidr”, black metal has once again been given a new breath of life into a very stale period of time. The true underground has yet again provided great music from true musicians who say fuck the trends and write what is inside their very souls.

Powerful and straight-forward - 77%
ultraviolet, July 30th, 2012
PrevFirst
Swedes Grá introduced themselves to us in an emphatic way with that wonderfully epic/nostalgic riff opening their debut EP. One year later, in a rather quiet (in marketing terms) tone, the black metal trio moved on to make the significant step of the first full-length album, in a substantial way, since its running time crawl up to almost 50 minutes.

Things here are fairly simple, yet simplicity when combined with good knowledge of the object proves to be a very wise choice. Here, the Scandinavians avoid any deviation to paths that lead away from the genre’s roots and remain concentrated to the goal of approaching the epic, old-school, Swedish black metal sound. Having as reference points compatriots Dissection or maybe The Black, while using some of Varg’s mid-tempo technique in “spreading” (if I can say so) their riffs, Grá do manage to sound convincing enough.

And this is not a small achievement, when in these soundscapes a thin line divides inspiration from pointless and blatant repetition. So, when we get to the point of witnessing glimpses on grandeur in the album’s final two tracks (“Offerrök” and “Farväl” – “Ett Sista Kapitel” is more of an outro), we can hope that in the near future, even better things will come out of this band.

In the meantime, those of you that missed “Grá” when it came out in the first place, do give part of your time here. If not anything else, at least you will get to hear how a black metal sound production can be deep and vast without submitting to clean, flat sound and boring drum triggers.

Originall written for:http://theantifleshnimbus.wordpress.com/

Review: Grá/Gnosis of the Witch Split - 80%
powerblack, April 30th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2015, 7" vinyl, Iron Bonehead Productions (Limited edition)
Innovation has not been new in black metal since the 2000s as many bands are breaking the shackle and experimenting with their sound. Grá is one of those bands, hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. The band was formed by the members of Domgard and Cursed 13, and known for their eerie, melodic black metal with a delicate conceptual approach on their music. Grá, prior to the release of their final full length album, is now going for a collaboration with American black metal band Gnosis of the Witch. Unlike the loads of other USBM acts, Gnosis of the Witch has more perplexed and primitive sound. These two shadowy black metal hordes are about to release a split EP between them on 27th of April, 2015. The split EP is going to be released on 7’’ vinyl format on Iron Bonehead Productions.

Grá commands the side A of the 7” with the track ‘Valitus ja Kaipuu’, giving a calm start accompanied by an acoustic intro. The song then breaks into slow, menacing black metal riff. The overall tempo on this side is doom-ish, with a thick guitar tone playing throughout. The rhythm section is outstanding, the best example to this statement could be heard around 2:18. What keeps the music of Grá on this split is the bands ability to procreate gloomy atmosphere with the guitars and the bass incorporated. On this song, the bass guitar is upbeat and can be heard over the drums, which stays pretty simple as it follows through. The blasts can only be heard during a verse, which elucidates the tempo of the song. Heljarmadr from infamous Domgard and Dark Funeral is singing on this side with his mid-pitched shrieks, so anyone familiar with these bands have the idea on his skills. The song is not overproduced and it supports the shivering background really well.

The excellence of Grá is followed on side B with US black metal band Gnosis of the Witch, contributing the track titled Fórn Dauðaorð. Although I was not familiar with the band previously, but it reminds me with the Scandinavian bands (Dissection, Mare) and Icelandic black metal band Svartidaudi. This track is not up to the mark once you have been forwarded from side A. The track is kicks off almost in a similar fashion exhibited by early Swedish bands, however, the starting riff sounds tremendous which is backed throughout by a sharp, melodic tremolo section staring around 0:52. The music at this point seem very European in terms of soundscapes. Yes, the atmosphere Gnosis of the Witch has created on this song is worth mentioning. This could also be the reason Grá chose these Americans to release an album with (apart from the lyrical contents which share similarities). The track has its slow and ambient mood which is attained from 2:30 before breaking into its black metal moments again. Unlike Grá, Gnosis of the Witch has their bass sounds buried amidst the guitar layers. In drumming, there is no abundant blasts or slow paced beats, rather played with sharp variations.

To finish with, the music in ‘Grá/Gnosis of the Witch’ can be described as a balance between the harsh black metal sound and melodious background. There is nothing groundbreaking on this release but the split itself is a solid black metal art for the fans of Scandinavian black metal.

Originally written for Venustas Diabolicus.

Ending
Grá
Type:Full-length
Release date:December 24th, 2015

Label:Unexploded Records

Limitation:1000 copies

Captivating to say the least - 90%
coffinfodder666, February 21st, 2016
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Unexploded Records (Limited edition, Digipak)
Sweden has always provided a breath of fresh air when it comes to black metal. The bands are determined and they know what to do just right. It must be something in the water there, but they manage to create an amazing atmosphere in their music. So It didn't really come as a surprise at how well rounded the releases from Grá over the past couple of years were and I was a bit pessimistic when I got my hands on the new album because they hadn't disappointed me with any of their previous releases and I wasn't sure if "Ending" would actually be the record that doesn't cut it. Boy wasn't I happy to know that was not the case.

Ending has a run time of nearly 50 minutes and is made up of 9 stellar tracks that would make your black metal loving self proud. Grá in my opinion is a band that knows their shit and does not stray far from their winning formula, which indeed is a great thing. The album features solid production elements which is coupled with the old-school sounds and traditional sounding riffs weave praiseworthy atmospheres. The riffing I would say is not the most complex but these simple yet harsh riffs along with the right sound and the constant pounding of the drums will catch you off guard. I personally like the new drum tone as opposed to the previous records because it adds more depth and blends in better with the rest of the instruments to create a god awful atmosphere. (which by the way is a good thing)

The vocals are raspy and compliments the music. No pushing the envelope or trying to stretch vocal ranges, they've kept it simple and true. You are bound to be blown away whether you are new to the band or even if you have been following their dirty musical trail over the past couple of years. Ending is an album that will make and impact. This proves that simple could you true and true could be simple. Buy it!

Originally written for Bitter Distaste

Drums echo in eternity. - 70%
GrizzlyButts, July 5th, 2018
Written based on this version: 2018, Digital, Carnal Records (Bandcamp)

In their nearly decade long exploration of the darker themes of Swedish spirituality Heljarmaðr‘s great gray Grá resemble a stylized approach to Swedish melodic black metal that barely relies on the old masters for direction. From the project’s inception Grá was minimally staffed much like the beginnings of Heljarmaðr‘s first project Cursed 13 and likewise featured drummer Dimman to round out the duo. Their 2010 EP ‘Helfärd’ was exceptional in it’s reverence to Swedish black metal as well as melodic black metal, invoking the same ‘true’ spirit as bands like Arckanum, Domgård, and Panphage without directly relating back to the achievements of Dissection or Sacramentum. “Krämpor och Kval” from that EP remains one of my favorite Grá songs and is more or less where my interest in the project began as a great cheerleader for melodic black metal.

Beyond their debut EP Grá could only be accused of consistency with their self-titled 2012 album being a particular standout for it’s rotten, ugly vocals atop stunning melodic black metal guitar work that strayed beautifully away from the odd rush of ‘norsecore’ groups at the time. Their sound was maybe slightly likened to early Taake just in terms of semi-melodic black metal with variance though looking back at the album I find it to be their most typically ‘Swedish’ sounding record in terms of guitar work. In defiance of expectation and with greater visibility through his entrance into Dark Funeral as vocalist each of Heljarmaðr‘s projects took on a greater blast of intensity. The great exception came in the form of Grá‘s ‘Ending’ in 2015 which landed with a great thudding darkness and personally reminded me of old Satyricon and Mayhem with it’s orthodoxy and dynamic ‘true’ spirit. Less a melodic departure and more a razor-whipped epic ‘Ending’ toyed with a balance between furious riffing and restfully retreating atmospheric black metal guitar work without sounding trite or -too- post-modernist.

The project has always represented a defiance from the squalid norms of black metal, and the cheapening treatment of the genre movement as gimmickry that forgets it’s own inception. In this way Grá appear always at odds with the black metal zeitgeist, even if the trend is orthodoxy as ‘Väsen’ is a shallow breath of air down the lungs of the great corpse of Scandinavian black metal. Equally melodic and striking in it’s guitar movements Grá‘s third full-length represents a polyamorous marriage of separate-but-equal classic black metal styles but doesn’t self-consciously stray away from modern black metal guitar performances. In this sense it has an aesthetic appeal of old school flair with Ancient and Emperor-esque synth waves beneath the guitar tone and yet it seems long-gone are the Sorhin-esque riff-fests of olde. This lends itself to a mildly to a less sincere release that manages to be memorable within keyboard work above black metal guitar riffing, all of this presented without irony.

‘Väsen’ is comprised of two equal sides that amount to similarly structured movements. Each side has three four minute songs and one seven minute track that bookends the side. By structuring the tracklist like this Grá give the listener an ‘even’ and accessible listen as they progressively experiment with new sounds across the album. Though “Till Sörjerskorna” starts off with some choppy synth it wasn’t until “Krig” that I began to pay closer attention to the keyboard/synth performances on ‘Väsen’. I see now after several listens and honing in on what makes the record special that the album is meant to be a departure and an exploration beyond their past sound; In this sense this album may carry some great potential to be off-putting for it’s unexpected rock-ish riffs (“Dead Old Eyes”, “The Devil’s Tribe”) and electro synth dabbling are fair warnings for the fans who are staunchly butt-rooted in orthodoxy.

So, because of this mild change in style I think it becomes important to gauge interest towards a group like Vreid, and perhaps Emperor, when approaching ‘Väsen’ without expecting a typical Swedish sound or approach. Beyond the first 3-4 listens I only connected with the release on it’s first half (and including “Gjallarhorn”). The second half beyond that was entirely a flop for me and as a result I can’t give a high recommendation for it. 5/8 is still a generally good ratio for a heavy metal album tracklist and the arrangement of tracks is sensible as a complete experience. I’d recommend sampling “King of Decay”, “Krig” and if your interest piques jump to “Till Sörjerskorna” and make your own damned decisions from there.

Attribution: http://grizzlybutts.com/2018/04/30/gra-vasen-2018-review/

Shameless Sacrilege - 91%
Cosmic Mystery, May 7th, 2018

This is what happens when you take two great bands and combine the elements that set them apart from each other whilst throwing in some Burzum (don’t believe me? See “Krig”; tell me that doesn’t sound like “Glemselens elv” off Belus), Inquisition and synth-wave elements. Heljarmadr seems to even have brought over some of Dark Funeral’s charm to Grá; some of the riffing on Väsen particularly on the opening track resembles that of Lord Ahriman. Even the structure of the song can be partially compared to “As One We Shall Conquer” Väsen is the final result the orgy; a tormenting smite of unrivaled, bleak madness and restlessness is conceived. Grá’s vocalist Heljarmadr had duties to fulfill in Dark Funeral after the self-departure of Emperor Magus Caligula who’s blasphemous tongue was replaced by Nacthgarm. Heljarmadr stepped in to assist in the vocal recording of Dark Funeral’s 2016 offering Where Shadows Forever Reign which turned out well for some and even exceeded the expectations of others such as myself. However, thoughts lingered in my mind as I wondered what would become of Grá; would Heljarmadr be exclusive to Dark Funeral or would he still remain active in Grá as their main vocalist?

Väsen is a stellar shape-shifting bastard beast; it doesn't care for feelings and has no shame when committing acts of mountainous irreverence. “Till Sörjerskorna” (“To the Sorcerers”) stomps upon the listener's head with fast drumming, wild tremolo picking and vile vocals by Heljarmadr. What I have found quite surprising is that on “Till Sörjerskorna” (“To the Sorcerers”) and throughout Väsen, Heljarmadr’s vocal enunciation sounds slightly more obscure than it did when he recorded Where Shadows Forever Reign with fellow countrymen Dark Funeral. I think Heljarmadr slightly adjusted his vocal approach for Dark Funeral such that his releases with them would sound diverse from Grá’s.

“Hveðrungs Mær” sounds like a collection of various segments from Grá’s “Klagan och längtan“ plus Inquisition’s “The Realm of Shadows Shall Forever Reign” and “Where Darkness is Lord and Death the Beginning”. However; Grá add a special touch to it with a killer incision around the 2:53 minute mark. Just a well assembled and diabolical hymn “Hveðrungs Mær” is. I was delighted and engrossed to hear how the song would turn out after the addition of those influential traces, and unholy shit it surpassed my expectations.

Grá’s Väsen is a show of shameless sacrilege; this bare faced fury of filth fetching meets its peak on the song “The Devil’s Tribe”. Here’s a small sickening snippet

“I never aimed to please
I never offered guidance
I came to put despair
In your heart
Pissing on your boots
While you enjoyed the sun
I came to put an end
To everything”

If you enjoyed Grá’s last release you will definitely love Väsen. It has all the elements of Grá’s character (intensified) and is assisted by the external sinister forces of Inquisition, Burzum, and some synth-wave. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to own this release; you will be greeted with sharp violent curses, unrestrained guitar melodies and riffs not to mention atmosphere encompassing evil.