How should I begin? Listening to this album made it difficult for me to find a starting line to begin my review. Should it be something like...one of the best Metal albums, so far? "Hammer Of The North" redefines the classical sound of Heavy Metal? Or simply, "Hammer Of The North" should be in every Heavy Metal fan's collection? I am a little overreacting because I liked the album very much but many will agree with me that "Hammer Of The North" is another great album from GRAND MAGUS.

GRAND MAGUS manages to take us back into an age that was more simple and for many even the best Metal days were there, and although I look always into the future of the music that I love I can't but feel that classic passion sometime. GRAND MAGUS with "Hammer Of The North" come to support the classical Heavy Metal and bring us back to an age of innocence and purity. Moving along the musical lines of Heavy Metal, Doom and a pinch of Stoner Metal they manage to travel us to heroic lands without the silliness of added orchestras, keys and tricks that cover Heavy Metal music and the inability to play good. GRAND MAGUS's sound is clean heavy and powerful, it's the kind of sound that fuels even the most reluctant listener to stand from his chair and throws him into a fervent headbanging that will result to him changing his house arrangement. "Hammer Of The North" is serious Heavy Metal and GRAND MAGUS are demonically good at it. Well, they are more than demonical, they hammer us with their masterful sound like the northern winds.

The lyrics are well crafted and take us to past times and into heroic and dark places. GRAND MAGUS do not fall into the trap of overreacting in their lyrics and they also do not overreact in their sound too. The guitars are subtly powerful, the riffs are edgy and strong. I was about to repeat the word classic but I saw that I haven't explained what I meant by classic. Classic like mmm...CANDLEMASS in "Epicus Dumicus Metalicus", that kind of classic. You can create good music with subtlety and diligence to the art that you promote and have the ability to create strong and emotional songs without added help and technical tricks. This is what GRAND MAGUS has done in this album. "Hammer Of The North", "Black Sails", "Bond Of Blood" and "Ravens Guide Our Way" must be the greatest moments of the album; the other songs are just great.

"Hammer Of The North" is GRAND MAGUS's best album or second best album. Actually this is a wrong categorization as GRAND MAGUS continue to bring to the scene great albums that the place they hold depends on the listener. The sound of "Hammer Of The North" is missing from the Heavy Metal scene, but this album should not be missed from any collection.