Across 21 years and ten studio albums, Stockholm’s Grand Magus have garnered a passionate fanbase who’re keen to scream along to ‘Hammer of the North’ whenever the group tour: just recently, we caught the band’s performance at Bloodstock 2024, in which frontman Janne Christoffersson described the crowd’s involvement as ‘pure love.’ Whether it be from their punchy riffs or folklore-based imagery, the band have earned themselves a special place in the hearts of many metal listeners, making the five year gap since their last album ‘Wolf God’ all the more excruciating. If the group’s previous output hadn’t swayed you on them, then 10th LP ‘Sunraven’ is highly unlikely to be any different. This is more of a fan-pleaser, and die-hards will be delighted to hear that Grand Magus’ newest project is as bombastic and fun as its predecessors.

First single ‘Skybound’ starts the album off as it means to continue, bursting into its opening riff with about as much gusto as the group could possibly muster. Production wise, ‘Sunraven’ may well be their punchiest and most confident outing yet, allowing Christoffersson’s lead guitar parts to shine without sacrificing any of the raw, unfiltered power of Skinner’s bass. With its catchy blues-based chorus and an excellent melodic solo in the back half, the track throws the listener into Grand Magus’ sound without hesitation, exemplifying some of the best traits that the band will explore throughout the record.

On future crowd-pleasers like the title track or ‘Hour of the Wolf,’ the band showcase their mastery of instantly iconic riffs, phrasing each one in a satisfying and joyous manner— the latter track is arguably the strongest on the entire record as the song plows through a fantastic hook and tasteful solo with no filler in sight. Grand Magus are hardly a thrash band, however, and some of their slower cuts are no less impressive: ‘The Black Lake,’ with its tension-fuelled intro and theatrical theming, is a welcome break in the middle of the album, while the chugging rhythms and infectious vocals on ‘The End Belongs To You’ make this a fitting conclusion, even if it is lacking a little bombast in places. Christoffersson and co. know exactly who’s listening to them and what those people are looking for, and they’ve brought more than enough thunderous bass grooves, massive hooks and straight-up fun to please their fans.

That desire to keep the fans happy is a double-edged sword though, and one that has slowly turned upon Grand Magus with each passing album: despite the five year gap since ‘Wolf God,’ the trio are sounding near identical, bringing a collection of songs that do little to expand or advance their sound. Single ‘The Wheel of Pain’ may sport some infectious riffs here and there, but the song’s plodding tempo leaves a lot to be desired, and the band grow dangerously close to self-plagiarising their hit single ‘Brother of the Storm’ at points. Tracks such as ‘Winter Storms’ and ‘To Heorot’ are similarly fun but forgettable, even if the former does centre itself around an intriguing Hells Bells-style riff, and a meagre runtime of only 35-minutes holds the album back from providing fans anything more than, simply put, more Grand Magus to enjoy.

The band have been keen to highlight that ‘Sunraven’ is their first out-and-out concept album, with its nine tracks exploring the characters and themes of the Old English epic ‘Beowulf.’ This does a shockingly limited job in separating the record from the rest of the album’s discography, however, with many of the lyrics here following the same power metal-adjacent leanings as much of their work. Despite the best intentions of somewhat unorthodox cuts like ‘The Black Lake,’ ‘Sunraven’ displays a disappointing lack of evolution for the group, making it hard (though far from impossible) to be excited for what might lie ahead for the trio.

After ten albums, Grand Magus have made it exceedingly clear that they know what they’re doing: Christoffersson, Skinner and Witt are masters when it comes to crafting fun, flamboyant metal tracks to wake an audience up. With its boisterous guitar riffs, crushing bass parts and generally excellent hooks, ‘Sunraven’ continues their tradition of consistently fun, enjoyable releases that will fill out a show’s setlist comfortably. It must be said, though, that the group have arguably grown too comfortable in their own sound after more than twenty years in business. ‘Sunraven’ is fun, no doubt, but it's high time for something more boundary-pushing from the trio: if the next album is another collection of similar-sounding cuts, we’ll be looking back on the group’s 10th LP with more indifference than excitement.