Carl Johan Grimmark (born 14 October 1977) is a Swedish guitarist. He has appeared with several influential
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...
bands including
Narnia,
Saviour Machine, and
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also release ...
. He joined the band
Beautiful Sin in 2006. He has also played with Jerusalem on several occasions including Sweden rock in 2015. He's been a special guest guitarist on fellow Narnia bandmate
Christian Liljegren's side projects
Divinefire and
Audiovision. He recorded his debut solo album titled ''Grimmark'', where he also handles the lead vocals. Grimmark's style of playing, especially on Narnia's earlier work, is often compared to the
neoclassical metal stylings of
Yngwie Malmsteen, or under a more broad genre,
neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
.
Grimmark is the main composer in Narnia, and on their album ''The Great Fall'' he wrote most of the lyrics. On their other albums the lyrics have been written by their vocalist Christian Liljegren. Grimmark is also given credits as a producer on several of Narnia's albums.
Grimmark has become a highly acclaimed guitarist in the Christian hard rock music genre as more people are exposed to his solid technical abilities, which can be exemplified by the fact that he is credited for playing every instrument on Narnia's debut album, ''Awakening'', and his unique approach of incorporating a neoclassical sound into his music.
Discography
German Pascual
* ''The New Beginning'' (2012)
Fullforce
* ''One'' (2011)
Narnia
* ''
Awakening'' (1998)
* ''
Long Live the King'' (1999)
* ''
Desert Land'' (2001)
* ''
The Great Fall'' (2003) (Not released in Japan)
* ''
At Short Notice... Live in Germany'' (2006)
* ''
Enter the Gate'' (2006)
* ''
Decade of Confession'' (2007)
* ''Course of a Generation'' (2009)
* ''
Narnia'' (2016)
* ''From Darkness to Light'' (2019)
* ''Ghost Town'' (2023)
Saviour Machine
* ''Legend Part III:I'' (2001)
* ''Live in Deutschland'' (2002)
* ''Rarities/Revelations'' (2006)
* ''Legend Part'' III:II (TBA)
Various
* ''Guitar Odyssey: Tribute to Yngwie Malmsteen'' (2001)
* ''Return to Fantasy: A Tribute to Uriah Heep'' (2003)
Sanctifica
Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, and disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, ''In the Bleak Midwinter'', in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s ...
* ''
Negative B
''Negative B'' is the second and last album by the Swedish band Sanctifica, released on Rivel Records in 2002. This album saw the band abandoning their previous black metal style for a more alternative, electronic, avant-garde metal, avantgarde, e ...
'' (2002)
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also release ...
* ''
Eyes of Eternity'' (2003)
* ''
Holy Hell'' (2005)
* ''
Garden of Chaos'' (2007)
* ''
The Voice of Melodic Metal – Live in Atlanta'' (2009)
Locomotive Breath
* ''Train of Events'' (2003)
System Breakdown
* ''102'' (2003)
Divinefire
* ''
Glory Thy Name'' (2004)
* ''
Hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Into a New Dimension'' (2006)
*
Eye of the Storm (2011)
Audiovision
* ''The Calling'' (2005)
Flagship
* ''Maiden Voyage'' (2005)
Planet Alliance
* ''Planet Alliance'' (2006)
Deep Effect
* ''Deep Effect''
Grimmark
* ''Grimmark'' (2007)
Solo effort by guitar phenom Carl Johan Grimmark, best known for his work with melodic metal band Narnia. Grimmark handles vocals himself on this outing.
Empire 21
* ''Empire 21'' (2014)
Preterist
* ''Blood Moon Rising'' (2022)
Martin Simson's Destroyer of Death
* "'
Eternal Reign'" (2023)
American melodic metal project founded by Martin Simson featuring Jørn Lande, Rob Rock, CJ Grimmark, Anders Köllerfors and Anders Johansson.
[https://www.facebook.com/DestroyerOfDeath?mibextid=ZbWKwL]
See also
*
List of rock instrumentals
*
Neoclassical metal
*
Shred guitar
References
External links
Carl Johan Grimmark's official websiteNarnia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimmark, Carl Johan
Swedish Christians
Christian metal musicians
Swedish heavy metal guitarists
Narnia (band) members
Living people
1977 births
21st-century Swedish guitarists
People from Huskvarna