Review by Felix on April 24, 2026.

"Gram", an old and more or less rarely used German word for "grief" or "sorrow", is the title of Atronos' third full-length. After a solid debut, the band took off with the glorious, epic yet merciless and monumental "Erwachen". Now "Gram" has to confirm the high class of the band if the dudes don't want to end up like a one trick pony. Ten songs in 50 minutes indicate a resilient foundation and the fact that Baptist, the highly creative leader of Mavorim, is still responsible for the voluminous vocals, builds up the anticipation. Okay, here he "only" contributes the vocals and the lyrics, but both components add a lot of value to the album. While always conveying a pathological undertone, Baptist sings very variable. He sounds commanding, deep and demonic, but also heroic, sarcastic, triumphant or desperate every now and then. Maybe his vocals should have put more in the focus of the production, because the lyrics are hard to understand sometimes, even for my Teutonic (yet pretty old) ears. Anyway, what I understand is that cynicism, hatred, malice and contempt are still the coordinates of his lyrical input. Moreover, he has a knack for very expressive song titles – what is the "Titanic Legacy" ("Titanisches Erbe") and whose whispering comes from the storm ("Ein Raunen Im Sturm")? I need to know it. Good song names can whet the appetite additionally and this is what happens here. "Kummertreiben" (almost impossible to translate, but it refers to suffering and pain) delivers the most representative line: "Grüßen wir den Untergang, dieser Krieg ist ein Gedicht" means "Let us welcome the decline; this war is a poetry". And believe me, "Gram" spreads a very hostile atmosphere from the beginning to the end.

Due to his several duties, Henker (music, guitar, bass, background vocals) is even more important than the great artist at the microphone for the line-up. Naturally, even the best lyrics stand on fragile ground without the fitting musical surrounding. Henker, also involved in Ad Mortem, knows this and he has written eight excellent and two good songs. Yes, "Stolz" and "In Ketten" are five or ten percent less strong than the remaining pieces, but, as said before, still cool and without any serious deficiencies. I am surprised that he has composed less epic songs than he did for "Erwachen". The ten tracks are compact, coherent and mostly straightforward. They come to the point quickly and do not lack directness. The number of the tempo changes is very well defined, the songs are not overloaded with a million of riffs, but never boring or ineffective. The signature of Henker shimmers through all tracks and so we get an individual album which still respects the guidelines of this kind of very mean black metal. Each and every song mirrors a certain emotionless, almost inhuman coldness, only the sporadically used keyboards add the kind of aura we know from "Erwachen" in a few moments. The song which profits most of them is "Titanisches Erbe". Its grandeur, its density and its vehemence has caught my attention since the first listening of the album. Outstanding sinister vocals complete the perfect picture.

All songs are neither following the verse-chorus-verse scheme nor do they boast with progressive structures. Henker has created different parts which blend seamlessly with each other and they result in highly recommendable tracks. Two of them offer a special gimmick. The guitar opening of "Mit Hass Im Aug' und Stahl Im Blut" is not too far away from the lines of "Meine Seele", a highlight from the debut. Even more surprising is that the opening riff of "Richtschwert deiner Sünde" sounds – surely unintentionally – like a typical W.A.S.P. riff ("Teacher"). A certain melancholy comes up, but this feeling (and the gruesome, vague silhouette of Blackie Lawless) is soon blown away by the black power of the following sections. This song is another track with some larger-than-life parts and an almost unforgettable chorus, a true jewel in a chest with many diamonds. Henker has written five thrilling tracks for the A side, especially the violent "Kummertreiben" develops a lot of pressure, while side B starts with two neckbreakers and ends with a third one: "Zorn" is a worthy, aggressive and relentless closer for an album full of high energy outbursts, not only in view of the hysterical (guest?) vocals in its centre.

The third guy, drummer Valfor, is also a member of Eisenkult. You see, everyone is welcome to join in. He does his job flawlessly and his instrument is loud enough to make its presence felt amid the din of the compositions. Generally speaking, the massive, gap-free and pummeling production goes hand in hand with the musical content of the album in terms of quality. So from my point of view, Atronos have definitely achieved the next rung on the ladder. Without doing something completely new or overly sophisticated, they offer a fascinating mix of songs. It stands in the tradition of their first two albums, but the material works bit better than before. And it goes without saying that I love to hear that their tracks come from the same cosmos like those of Mavorim in terms of style. Thus, if you like highly competent, down-to-earth, mostly vehement black metal, "Gram" is an album you will take to your heart in a matter of minutes. I just hope that their label will release the vinyl edition soon.

Rating: 9 out of 10