Griffar is an obscure Extreme Metal act residing in France. I first came across them in an underground metal blogspot. After getting into their music, which was top-notch, I was somewhat surprised of the band’s obscurity. Practically no one, not even in the underground black metal scene had heard of them. After familiarizing myself with their demo, they easily became one of my favorite black metal acts. And now let’s turn our attention to that effort.I have yet to look deep into their lyrical content, so for the time being I will stick to describing their music. Probably the first thing worth mentioning is that the tracks are long in duration. Only one song, The Sanctuary of Cursed Warriors, is under the ten minute mark. And it’s still a long track, lasting for nearly eight minutes. But the length of the tracks is certainly not a bad thing. The music doesn't become boring or repetitive. The tracks keep growing and constantly pumping out catchy riffs, one after another. Now, as a guitarist, I feel most comfortable talking about the guitar playing. Having spent hours playing their guitar riffs by ear, it's safe to say Griffar are heavily influenced not only by the Norwegian black metal scene but the Swedish black metal scene as well. In fact, just last night, by ear, I played Vinterland's As I Behold the Dying Sun on guitar, and I immediately recognized that a riff from Griffar's Ensnared By the Scarlet Oath derived from Vinterland's magnum opus. Of Witches and Celt’s guitars are probably best described as being Melodic Black Metal. But, in spite of the melody, the guitar riffs still evoke eerie feelings and images, and produce horrifying atmosphere. While listening to this album I, more often than not, feel like I'm in the middle of the woods during the fall harvest. This release truly is magical. And it's worth mentioning that their influences are not limited to extreme metal. The opening tremolo picked riff on the final track is reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Hallowed Be Thy Name. But believe me when I say that Griffar is by no means a rip-off. Moving on to the vocals, bass and drums. Well, what's there to say? Unlike the guitars, nothing superb. But they definitely aren't generic. In fact, they sure as hell get the job done. By and large, this is one solid release. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes black metal.