Grand Magus

For their sixth album, and debut on Nuclear Blast, Swedish riff wizards Grand Magus have laid down their shiniest piece of metal majesty yet. And, seriously, these guys have got a deep and wondrous back catalogue worth exploring. But if you don't have the patience to sit through a half-dozen discs, just get this one. Opener "Starlight Slaughter" is as good a blast of traditional metal as any out there, "Valhalla Rising" takes the good aspects of Manowar and makes them digestible and the title track drops the double-time gallop down to a mid-tempo one ― always riding the horse, always. The vocals are the perfect hairy, hoary metal dude fare, just this side of embarrassing but always totally ale raising and relatable. The doom and stoner overtones are here, but this is mainly a lesson in the riff. This is a reminder of why metal is so good in the first place, with those memorable choruses, amazing guitar melodies and above all else, love for song, all respectfully within the parameters of crashing drums, searing solos and tasty traditional metal.