THE GRIMALKIN

4.5 stars. NOEKK are two men from Germany who used to be part of a Death Metal band called EMPYRIUM. They wanted to create a project that payed homage to the Prog legends of the seventies.Their first record is called "The Water Sprite". You could describe their sound as gloomy and dark in a seventies style.There are elements of Folk with mellotron, but also lots of heaviness with guitar riffs and strong, alto, unique vocals. And in the seventies tradition this album is only 42 minutes long.

"The Albatross" opens with a dark pastoral mood as reserved vocals come in. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Great sound. The organ especially. Heavy riffs and mellotron follow. The pastoral section is back from earlier as the contrasts continue. I like the piano with drums after 5 minutes as mellotron rolls in. Chunky bass too. Just a fabulous track ! "The Grimalkin" opens with sparse, dark piano melodies. Very eerie as fragile vocals enter the scene. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Nice. Again like the first song they really contrast well the mellow parts with the incredible heavy sections. I just love their style and sound.

"Codex Deserta" opens heavily reminding me of IN THE WOODS... before it settles before 2 minutes. Vocals follow and the tempo picks up after 3 minutes. The heaviness is back before 4 1/2 minutes with mellotron. Again the contrast of heavy and pastoral is featured throughout.

If you like that dark, heavy style of music you owe it to yourself to check this band out. Highly recommended.