Lantern Of Gius [VINYL]

• music

Grotto's third LP and Stickman debut is a summation of the band's achievements in their brief but prolific history - a two-track odyssey across spaced- and stoned-out heavy rock landscapes. Within Europe, the Belgian heavy rock scene is sometimes unfairly overshadowed by its larger neighbors. However, at the latest with the founding of Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp, the heart of the European Union is rising as a focal point in the scene. Enter Grotto - a unique voice hailing from Flanders who met at the festival's first edition in 2014. Beginning with a series of heavily improvised late-night jam sessions, they stumbled upon a sound that forged the heavier elements of rock with dreamy and melodic trips. Releasing two LPs in quick succession in 2016 and 2017, Grotto made strides to defining their own voice, incorporating elements of post rock, psychedelic rock and atmospheric soundscapes into a progressive song structure. Lantern of Gius is Grotto's third LP and debut for Stickman Records. Comprised solely of two epic songs - one per side - it is a musical journey few other bands could recount solely in instrumental fashion. Guitarist Marvin Dinneweth's iconic guitar work uses spacious, open guitar chords as opposed to chunky stoner riffs for the foundation of the music, allowing bassist Jeroen Moerman and drummer Arno Cottyn to carry the undercurrent of the musical stream. Moving between passages of introspective post rock and full-on distorted riffing, Lantern of Gius is the band's most varied and mature effort yet that will resonate with listeners from all across the spectrum of rock music and beyond.