Review by Sam on March 9, 2026.

Of all the calamities cooked up by us humans throughout history, it can probably be agreed upon that war is the worst. What good comes from war? Young men and women go off to die by the thousands, and entire nations are obliterated, resulting in abject poverty and displaced refugees seeking and rarely finding asylum. Whether it’s war for religion or war for policy, the devastation always outweighs the outcome, and who really wins? Politicians? Hardly. The only true winner in war is Death.

But without war, would there be Bolt Thrower?

The answer, as any self-respecting metalhead knows, is a resounding no. Bolt Thrower is the preeminent war metal band. Yes, yes, I know that Blasphemy and Black Witchery and other bands of their ilk are what comprise the “war metal” genre, because their music sounds like the din of actual war, but the mighty BT is THE BAND when it comes to war as a primary lyrical topic, and it’s their morose and despondent use of melody and subsequent harmony that has established this consensus among metalheads. Ah, glorious Bolt Thrower. Often imitated, never replicated.

Enter Grond, of Russia, another imitator, yes, undoubtedly, but their forthcoming album The Temple caught my eye and my ear because of its concept surrounding WWI German U-boat commander Otto Eduard Weddigen. As ghastly as this sentence is to type, type it I must. World War I is my favorite war. The Great War. The war to end all wars. The first conflict of nations to envelop the entire globe. The first war to see chemical weapons put to use; the first war to be fought from the sky. Combine all of these things with another heavy metal lightning rod, that of the writing of HP Lovecraft, and the resulting template is a vast one for the creation of some truly desolate soundscapes.

With the blaring alarm of the introductory track 'Rotter Himmel' (rotten heaven), the bleakness induces a feeling of actually being aboard a U-boat destined for the bottom of the Atlantic. Though I can’t say for certain, I feel pretty sure that this opening distress signal is being produced by a guitar. The ensuing album has all the death metal delights one could hope for: enraged, low guttural vocals, blast beats, double bass, meedily meedily mee guitar shredding, old school influences with modern production values, you name it.

The lead vocalist, who goes by the handle Kist, is a definite highlight of the record, sounding like a belligerent and cycloptic barbarian with a one-track mind, and that track is annihilation for all. The incendiary lead guitar work is another prominent feature of The Temple, drawing inspiration from Azagthoth and Hobbes, among others, and the riff work throughout this recording is nearly on the level of these greats. The song 'Dreadnought' is a particular beast of note, with its driving, undulating rhythmic force lending itself well to the topic of WWI warships. Blastbeats are tastefully employed by drummer Kadath, never overwhelming the listener or used as a crutch to carry a track. Another cool thing about The Temple is you can actually hear the bass, and four-stringer Sarghas does a lot more than just follow the root note.

Although Bolt Thrower has long departed from the death metal universe, their legacy will live forever, with the ever-burning torch being properly carried by bands like Grond. And what more fertile and moribund grounds could there be for harvesting a death metal concept than a field sown with the seeds of Bolt Thrower, Lovecraft, and The Great War? 

Rating: 8 of 10 sunken U-boats