EP Review: Rogue Five by Admire the Grim (Inverse Records)

Finnish melodic death metal band Admire the Grim is set to release their debut EP Rogue Five on January 13th 2023 via Inverse Records.

Admire the Grim is a melodic death metal band from Lappeenranta, Finland. The group was formed by five friends in early 2021. In May 2022 the band released its first single ‘Storm the Barricade’ and in September 2022 music video and single for ‘Rogue Five’ saw the daylight. In November 2022 the second single ‘The Flood’ from ‘Rogue Five’ -EP will be released and the EP itself is published on January 13th 2022 via Inverse Records.

Speaking about the formation of Admire the Grim, the band stated:

“In the turn of 2020-2021 childhood friends Jani and Kalle started to write songs and plan putting a band together. They asked friends to join and soon Sirja and Tommi  jumped in. Lastly Katri  found her way to the group and the band was complete. After some get togethers and song writing sessions started relentless rehearsing (not forgetting the parties at Kalle’s house ofc).

We all had very different backgrounds in both music and life, which eventually somehow proved to be a fully functional chaos. The soundscape of our music bases heavily on 90’s and 00’s melodic death metal, but each of us have thrown in our individual musical backgrounds in search of the band’s sound. We feel like we’ve developed so much in just over a year and still (and forever) progressing.”

Admire the Grim are Katri Snellman on vocals, Jani Loikkanen and Sirja Ojaniemi on guitars, Kalle Raatikainen on bass and Tommi Vante on drums.

Rogue Five comes with 4 tracks on it jumping straight into life with The Flood. It takes no time to settle in, coming fast and hard with higher toned riffs and blazing leads. The drums hit hard with a chunky bass line in the mix too. The vocals are very harsh, with a bit of an old school death metal vibe to them. It’s a nice contrast to the higher pitched guitar lines. The vocals mix up a bit, bringing in cleans too so we get that additional contrasting cleans and harsh vocals which is always nice to listen to. I definitely feel Children of Bodom vibes, in the lead guitars and the bit of gang vocals. The absolutely ripping solo impresses in a big way too. It’s fast and fiery, a winning way to start off any release.

The pace doesn’t let up either as we head into Mad Queen of the Second Sun. It has a darker tone, thicker bass and chunkier riffs to match up with the vicious growled vocals and feels a little more chaotic, in a good way. It comes together nicely for a chorus that hooks you in and sees the higher leads come back in for some fast and hard melody. I really like this song – the heavier verses are made for headbanging with a really dark and deep rhythm section and forceful vocals before those leads come in an just elevate the darkness with some masterful melodies.

Admire the Grim has a more melodic start with a really catchy intro that jumps into an infectious beat and clean vocals. The transition from cleans into growls works well, especially with the moments of cleans backing growls. There is plenty of chunky groove to the track, plenty of headbanging sections all combining into a a melodic and quite beautiful chorus. Add another superb solo in as well with a nice key change as the song approaches the end. This is solid metal.

And so we reach the final track with the EP title track, Rogue Five. We dabble back in the heavier side of things with a fast and furious start with expert drums and chunky riffs. The vocals are harsh, the bass thick and you will find yourself headbanging along without realising it. The melodic guitars elevate the track at just the right times and again come into their own in a fiery solo. Outside of that though, this track just rocks with a relentless, aggressive pace that is sure to fire up mosh pits everywhere.

Admire the Grim have released a strong debut here with Rogue Five with plenty to appreciate across it’s 4 tracks. There are definite Children of Bodom vibes in a good way. Not like a copy but more like the band were inspired by them. You feel it in the structures, the backing shouts and the absolutely mesmerising lead guitar work. It’s just really good metal. Not particularly game changing, but not everything has to or should be. The drums, bass, riffs and leads all work together perfectly with a nice mix of vocals to create songs that you can head bang to, mosh to and enjoy. It’s a wonderful debut and surely points to a big future for Admire the Grim.

Head on over to Admire the Grim’s Bandcamp page, here, and grab your copy of Rogue Five.

Admire the Grim Links

Facebook – Instagram – Bandcamp – Inverse Records YouTube –