The Grey – KODOK

This is not just a collection of songs that were thrown together, it’s a sprawling and dynamic journey through shadow and light, melody and aggression. The Cambridge trio have constructed a sonic world that evokes desolate landscapes, with fleeting glimpses of a fragile beauty that has been lost and forgotten 

Release Date: Feb 28, 2025

Record Label: Majestic Mountain Record

Having witnessed The Grey live on two occasions, I felt like I had an inside track on how this latest release KODOK was going to measure up! Even as recent as last January, at the Celestial Diadem weekender, the band pummeled us with a barrage of heavyweight riffs and an unhinged energy. So, for me, it was obvious that the new album was going to snarl, bite and punish! With KODOK, The Grey have delivered an album that feels like it emerged from beneath the earth’s crust, harnessing all that pressure and tectonic weight, and laying siege to us mere mortals! This is not just a collection of songs that were thrown together, it’s a sprawling and dynamic journey through shadow and light, melody and aggression. The Cambridge trio have constructed a sonic world that evokes desolate landscapes, with fleeting glimpses of a fragile beauty that has been lost and forgotten. 

The opening track, “Painted Lady,” is a slow-burning leviathan that gradually unfurls with these deep subterranean bass tones and a guitar that smolders rather than ignites, generating an atmosphere of cleverly controlled tension. As the song progresses, it undergoes several tectonic shifts, as the riffs rumble into focus and the percussions become unrelenting. By the end of it, you find you’ve been thrust into a whirlpool of distortion and ferocious power. 

KODOK thrives on contrasts. There are moments of heavy, crushing metal, powered by massive down tuned guitars that churn like machinery interspersed with passages of eerie and unsettling serenity. Guitar melodies shimmer above brooding basslines, and drums move fluidly between tribal rhythms and thunderous assault. There’s almost a cinematic sensibility at play here, which is an odd statement to make when describing the sludgy, stoner sounds of The Grey! but the band seems less interested in traditional song structures and more focused on tension, atmosphere, and delivery. 

Tracks like “La Bruja” and my favorite, CHVRCH feel like movements in a grander composition. “La Bruja” opens with a relentless, almost mechanical riff, before dissolving into an ambient section that drips with melancholy. “CHVRCH” is a masterclass in slow-build songwriting, beginning with clean, reverent tones, it gradually thickens into something sacred and punishing, raw and impassioned with the help of those visceral vocals further compounding the gloom. Throughout the album, the guest vocal appearances are treated like instruments rather than narratives or fillers. They’re used sparingly and they bring raw texture and a human edge without distracting from the instrumental storytelling.  

The closing track “AFG” truly encapsulates the album’s essence. We are treated to one final convergence of melody and magnitude. It starts with a patient, almost hopeful tone, releasing a fresh and welcome air of positivity awash with head banging goodness! before giving way to a climactic surge that feels earned and ultimately, inevitable. 

KODOK is a complete album. It doesn’t seek to entertain in the conventional sense. It challenges, envelops, and ultimately rewards the listener. The Grey have carved out a space entirely their own that’s dark, vast, and hauntingly beautiful.