{"id":50832,"date":"2025-07-31T20:18:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/50832\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T20:18:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:18:13","slug":"grayceon-then-the-darkness-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/50832\/","title":{"rendered":"Grayceon – Then the Darkness Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Novelty in the metalsphere exists in many folds, whether it be the marrying of virtuosity and familiar structures or the exploration of foreign sounds and textures in a rock\/metal context. Grayceon, for the better part of the past twenty years, has lingered in the latter path from 2007\u2019s self-titled debut to this newest grand work, Then the Darkness, finding value in the riffy and amp-driven space between emotive, layered electric cello work. Trading a traditional, handheld four-stringed pulse for a classical, stand-up, sullen expression, Grayceon\u2019s Jackie Perez Gratz (Giant Squid, ex-Ludicra) has led this San Francisco-based troupe through waxing journeys of post-inflected, prog-minded heavy metal grandeur with a bowed breath of fresh air time and time again. And now, with Then the Darkness, Grayceon looks to double down on their signature sound\u2014a culmination of frustrations in fancy form.<\/p>\n

Possessing both the prowess to open Then the Darkness with a blistering cry (\u201cThousand Year Storm\u201d) and approach its close with a near lullaby (\u201c(Untitled)\u201d), Gratz and Grayceon continue to find a necessary diversity in their growing body of work. And in the capable engineering hands of trusted partner Jack Shirley, Gratz\u2019s lilting vocal lure against counterpoint chamber-influenced swings find an increasing warmth against thick, finger-picked guitar runs and long-drawn crescendos. Time has weathered Gratz\u2019s voice into a full crackle and alto croon that reflects the kind of mystical incantation that you might hear in latter-day Sabbath Assembly, as well as providing room for growth in harsh screeching accompaniment reminiscent of the minstrel Jekyll and Hyde performances of early Ludicra. Yet Grayceon remains in their own element first, even weaving moments of self-referential melodies throughout the back half of Then the Darkness to root deeply the recurring nature of the traumas each of their works explore.<\/p>\n

Then The Darkness by Grayceon<\/a><\/p>\n

As an exercise in textural excellence, though, Then the Darkness would struggle to entertain through its mammoth eighty-minute sermon if not backed by its aching heart narrative. With themes revolving around the complex nature of evolving relationships\u2014between parent and child, between friends, between partners, between society and its most downtrodden\u2014Gratz navigates each sorrowful tune with a warbling pathos that reads full and earnest in its many cracks. And while this downcast reading flows through much of the journey, the long fadeout from \u201cMahsa\u201d to instrumental segue \u201cThen the Darkness\u201d renders most of the C-side (\u201cThen\u2026\u201d through \u201cSong of the Snake\u201d) far more placid and buried than the lively bounce that \u201cHolding Lines\u201d provides to the closing chapters. It\u2019s hard to escape the \u201cwhat if\u201d in terms of what could happen in a more streamlined experience\u2014despite the high quality of Grayceon\u2019s strongest offerings, the slightest dip or departure feels like a missed opportunity where their other works to date have chosen a lighter load.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, Grayceon\u2019s mastery of studio play emboldens simple structures with deft attacks to fuel the craveability of Then the Darkness. With the ebb and flow of a jam session, quicker cuts fill the air with rockin\u2019 riffs, tight rhythms, urgent melodies, and a classic, volume-driven tone (\u201cOne Third,\u201d \u201c3 Points of Light,\u201d \u201cHolding Lines\u201d). And while it\u2019s up front harmonic excess in plucked guitar ascensions that collide with sliding bow tension pepper these tracks with short-term pleasure, it\u2019s the subtle double-punched lines and diverging, hard-panned cello-guitar fill flickers that stimulate an urge to devour all nooks of sound available. And as buttery-yet-jagged riffage finds a crooked home between layered cello stabs (\u201cThousand Year Storm\u201d) and slithering, off-kilter refrains (\u201cSong of the Snake\u201d), each cut in careful construction escalates to crescendos coordinated in explosive and sullen moods. The longest track, \u201cMahsa,\u201d cranks all of these techniques to keep each recursion along a gentle climb rather than a flat stroll.<\/p>\n

If providing an audience with a plate too full to finish was the goal, Then the Darkness has more than fulfilled the task. From humble roots as a scrappy power trio to this newest incarnation as presence-demanding storytellers, Grayceon\u2019s path of human travail has brought about a gargantuan work that demands attention and dedication. In its four-sided tale, Then the Darkness strikes with an undeniable, hook-laden melancholy when its fire burns brightest. In isolation, no track falters. And though a waning intensity keeps it from being a masterpiece, Grayceon offers enough top-shelf material to make a long service worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Translation Loss Records<\/a> | Bandcamp<\/a>
Websites: grayceon.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/grayceon<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: July 25th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novelty in the metalsphere exists in many folds, whether it be the marrying of virtuosity and familiar structures…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[2967,12018,9673,88,39171,39172,9679,39173,216,39174,39175,899,900,39176,39177,39178],"class_list":["post-50832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-2967","tag-3-5","tag-american-metal","tag-entertainment","tag-giant-squid","tag-grayceon","tag-jul25","tag-ludicra","tag-music","tag-post-metal","tag-progressive-metal","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-sabbath-assembly","tag-then-the-darkness","tag-translation-loss-records"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}