Band:	Grymheart
Album:	Hellish Hunt
Style:	Extreme folk metal, Extreme power metal
Release date:	September 2023

01. The Twilight Is Coming
02. Hellbent Horde
03. Ignis Fatuus
04. To Die By The Succubus
05. My Hellish Hunt
06. Army From The Graves
07. Everlost
08. Fenrir's Sons
09. Facing The Kraken
10. Harpies Of Devil
11. Monsters Among Us

In contrast to their name, this new Hungarian folkish power metal act don't seem to have a Grymheart, based on the vibrant melodies they deliver on their debut.

Grymheart are a Hungarian extreme folk/power metal band that formed back in 2020, whose lineup consists of Gabriel Blacksmith (guitars/vocals), Dargor Rivgahr (guitars), V'arhel (bass) and Sorin Nalaar (drums). To simply put it short, Grymheart have a style that is driven by highly melodic guitar work, with equally melodic keyboards and synths. This is a style that strongly resembles certain Finnish bands, such as Kalmah, Children Of Bodom, Wintersun and especially Ensiferum. Now, if you happen to be a fan of one of these acts, then you'll sure as hell be in for a treat here.

So, onto Grymheart's full-length debut titled Hellish Hunt, featuring eleven tracks with a 42-minute running time. To start with, remember the several bands I mentioned earlier regarding Grymheart's extreme power/folk style? Well, this album begins in a very similar manner to how those bands, particularly Ensiferum, do on their own records. The opening track is a short acoustic instrumental intro, "The Twilight Is Coming", which leads into the first main song, "Hellbent Horde". Here, you'll be amazed just by how melodic and catchy the songwriting is, especially at this stage so early on. This track screams out traditional Finnish power/folk metal, despite this band actually originating from Hungary, from the classic Children Of Bodom-style keyboard melodies to the Kalmah-esque folkish riffs, and from the melodeath growls to the Finnish power metal shredding solo.

Next up is "Ignis Fatuus". Now, this is one track that I find really stands out above the rest; it begins with a traditional acoustic folk melody, before a great galloping memorable riff takes shape. Eventually, the striking chorus emerges, which features drunken party-like backing chants behind the growls. The whole rhythm, style, and structure is clearly reminiscent of early Ensiferum, like nothing else I've heard since early Ensiferum themselves released From Afar all those years ago. From here on, the Ensiferum influences become all the more evident, no track being more so influenced than the epically driven "Army Of The Graves". Both the keyboard and guitar work play equally key roles towards the track's epic approach, along with the great galloping rhythm section; the whole melody and structure of the song, in particular the catchy, memorable chorus chants, have a close resemblance to Ensiferum's classic track, "Twilight Tavern".

The next track, "Everlost", takes a slightly different route, as it runs at a much faster tempo from the get-go. Despite its higher level of ferocity, and perhaps more melodeath approach, the track always remains highly melodic, whilst retaining folk influences. The whole style and rhythm of this song is a sheer headbanger's delight and is likely to inspire jumping up and down, fist pumping, or at the very least vigorous headbanging. The next track, "Fenri's Sons", follows suit, containing yet more memorable and catchy riffs that immediately have you hooked from the start, with the band Kalmah springing to my mind most in particular.

"Monsters Among", at just over eight minutes in length, closes the album off in the best possible way. The track begins as if one's on some epic journey, reminding me of those long epic Ensiferum tracks, along the lines of "Heathen Throne", "The Longest Journey", "Victory Song", and "Abandoned". Just when you think the instrumentation is getting too epic to handle, or even the melodies are getting over the top, you're met at the halfway point by an impressive acoustic interval, which slows things right down. The interval, however, is short-lived, and a gradual build-up eventually unleashes a grand old epic finale. By the time the second half of the track comes to an end with its closing sweet synth passage, you've been met by an impressive fusion of Kalmah, Ensiferum and Wintersun all in one: call it a melodeath/extreme power/folk sandwich, if you will.

The album's running time of just over 40 minutes simply flies by, and there's never a dull moment for any given second. The melodies flow endlessly, giving the listener plenty of enjoyable headbanging moments. Of course, being a fan of Finnish folk metal in the first place really helps a great deal in regard to how much joy you'll get from this album.