After nearly a decade toiling in relative obscurity in the German underground, the death/doom behemoth known as Grimoire de Occulte emerges with the band’s first full-length album, Wisdom of the Dead. There’s a raw, primitive quality to Wisdom of the Dead; Grimoire de Occulte—who formed originally as a drone/ambient unit—keep things simple, choosing to drag simple arrangements at speeds that range from glacially-slow to mid-paced death metal.
Swathed in an unsettling atmosphere, like something vile has been awoken by the very notes played, Wisdom of the Dead stands as a firm testament to the power of doing things the old-school way, from its songwriting to its production to the band’s as-anonymous-as-you-can-be-in-2018 presentation.
When reached for comment, Grimoire de Occulte provided the following statement:
“Grimoire de Occulte is our temple—here we can grow from the fire of enlightenment, drink from the chalice of wisdom and receive the message from the unknown… So our music is a manifestation of what you can call occult death metal, which would fit it very well to describe our doing in few words. Our album which will be released on the last day of the year is a materialization of collective energies that were concentrated in the last 5 years: Wisdom of the Dead is a concept album that act around the thematics of the occult, afterlife or the other side. As we all are and were strongly influenced by death, every member in a similar way, we had to focus on this thematic on the album. You can expect something serious from us, every blood drop, idea, view and capacity that was put in the album is real and serious.”
Wisdom of the Dead is out on December 31 via Dunkelheit Produktionen.
