Cello-rockers strike gold with third LP

One gets the sense from Grayceon’s third full-length album, “All We Destroy,” that it is primarily considered a metal band because frontwoman Jackie Perez Gratz lends her cello work to so many other metal bands.

Grayceon is a much more refined beast, a chance for Perez Gratz’s cello to take over as the principle instrument rather than merely add texture to the heavier work of acts like Agalloch and Giant Squid.

It should come as no surprise, then, that “All We Destroy” includes some of her finest moments both as a cellist and a vocalist. Guitarist Max Doyle is the one adding texture to the sound, and Perez Gratz is allowed to dominate.

Album highlight “Shellmounds” sees her exploring territory she hasn’t breached before in her 40 album discography, her expressive bow and fingers transforming her cello into an extension of herself while her voice belts brooding lines about “all the bones and shards and shattered shells” with confidence.

While Grayceon’s metal cred is questionable, its maturation is not. It took three albums, but the band has its masterpiece.