GARDENJIA:

• EPO (2012) So start with a really odd time signature. Then layer ontop some chunky sludgy start stops riffs on guitar in a Meshuggah'esque style. Now repeat the riff over and over again to achieve a droning effect. Now add some yelled vocals that are completely off key and don't seem to follow the music. And top it off with some sung vocals that sound a lot like Sting from the Police. Sounds like a complete mess, right? Strangely enough, it actually sounds really cool. While the riffs are somewhat Meshuggah like, the sound is far less dry, and the notes are held longer so everything kinda bleeds into everything else. Also love the production, very scooped with lots of bass. Also just a touch of chimy guitars overtop to add interest, not as much as say Tesseract uses, but you get the idea. This band decided to experiment, and what you get is something rather unique. There's very little differentiation between songs, so this is an album best enjoyed as a single album, don't try and follow the music, just let the music wash over you. Surprising and enjoyable.
• Materia Oscura (2014) Very similar to their first album. 7 songs, but LONG songs, again, best enjoyed as a single long album since there's little to differentiate songs. The production quality has also gone up a notch, not that their last album was bad by any means, but you can hear the difference when you compare. Overall a really atmospheric experimental album, perhaps a little more sung vocals and a little less screaming, but it's not a bad thing, since the sung vocals are eerie and haunting. If you dug their first, get this one as well.
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (2014) Here's a bit of a departure for a metal band. Gardenjia has decided to do a heavier reinterpretation of the classical score to a japanese animated feature film. The results are certainly interesting. Since the original score was classical music, obviously the symphonic elements already present in the band's music are more prominent here, as they try and keep the same general feel as the original soundtrack, but then enhance it with the heaviness that only electric guitars and double bass can add. Overall, I really dig it, it's heavy, it's complex, it fits right in with the band's other 2 albums while standing alone as a cool experiment. Probably not for everyone, but I found it very enjoyable.
• Arkestral (2016) A bit of a departure for the band. The album starts off (after a short intro) with super fast doublebass and blasts (I assume its a drum machine), and then really harsh screamed death metal vocals. While these elements have been in the music before, I'm more used to the groovier aspects of the band, and they're not to be found until far later in the album. Track 3 has a little more groove to it, but again, strongly favors the death metal yells. Track 4, the title track, is where things start becoming a little more familiar with more groove, more melody, even a sax solo. The clean choral vocals don't make their appearance until Track 6. In general, I applaud the band for more diversity this time (their last full length was maybe a little too melodic), the heavier parts are good, but maybe adding a touch more of the melodic elements back in would achieve the perfect balance.
• ...Of Lambs And The Machine (2017) Gardenjia re-invents itself again. After their last album was far more brutal than previous efforts, this album brings back the choral vocals, and removes much of the strange time signatures for a more straight forward song styling. The result is very atmospheric, very melodic, very progressive, and while there's still distorted guitars, the album only holds onto its metal classification by a thread. Easy listening metal, maybe? The closest comparison I can make is the band Novembre, maybe some of the lighter songs by Devin Towsend. It seems now that Gardenjia is going to surprise me with every release in terms of style. I don't think this album is going to get a lot of replay, but when I'm in a mellower mood and just want something more ambient, this may be the ticket.
• In Dreams (2017) Another left turn for the band. This heads back into the group's earlier territory, more distorted guitars, more strange time signatures. The music tends to drone a little more in this release, the same odd riff repeated again and again with soft choral vocals over top, which kind of puts you in a trance. Imagine modern Meshuggah but with sung stuff instead of screamed. The album is 20 tracks, but 4 of those are a forgettable demos, and 8 are short intros, but the remaining 8 main songs are long, heavy, and highly enjoyable. This band will obviously continue to experiment in all sorts of different directions, but this album is a little more in line with their first two albums, and that's my favorite of their various guises. Recommended!
• Machina Dei (2018) A long song split into 17 parts (each part is approx a minute long), this album is meant to be a tribute to many of the band's favorite composers. Each songs has a Japanese character for a name, and stays mostly on the metal / industrial side of things. Imagine a harsh industrial remix of the band's more metallic work, and you get the idea. Very few sung vocals on this one, mostly distorted screams. Yet another genre explored, the band keeps things fresh and this release is a nice experimental album to play as background music for those late nights when you want something a little more coherent than pure noise, but still droning enough to fall into a trance while you work.
• Immortal (2019) A fantastic concept album based on the planets and other celestial bodies in our solar system. As well as the usual mixture of sung vocals, growls, Meshuggah inspired start and stop riffs and heavy use of keyboards, there's also numerous tributes to favorite classical composers, such as a metalized version of the song "Mars: Bringer Of War" by Holst and several pieces by Mozart. Overall, I feel this album does one of the best jobs of mixing all of the separate elements together. The keyboards create a nice spacy scifi sound, the heavy guitar gives you something to headbang too, and vocals create an appropriately moody feel. The mechanical drum sound creates impossibly complex layers of rhythm. My favorite song is 'Lacrimosa', the alternate picked guitar main theme with the washes of sung vocals rolling over top are both beautiful and epic, and the middle is this crazy cacophony of drum machine blast beats. Overall, one of my favorite releases from Gardenjia, pick it up!
  

GLASS CLOUD:

• The Royal Thousand (2012) Progressive deathcore band. While you have all the normal elements of deathcore like breakdowns, shouted / sung vocals, etc, this band adds a lot of samples, keyboards, and fast strumming guitar riffs to add a futuristic feel to the music. Vocalwise, it's mostly sung with a few growls, however, I dig the singing, the vocalist reminds me a bit of Chino from the Deftones. In fact, a number of parallels can be drawn between this band and the Deftones, even in the music, as there's lots of the same sort of sound and vibe experimentation going on in this album that we saw on say the Deftones' "White Pony" album. So imagine the Deftones if they had been a deathcore band, and you sorta get Glass Cloud. The thing that really works for me are the songs, they manage to produce songs that are very original sounding. My main beef with the deathcore genre isn't necessarily the elements that make up the songs it's that so much of deathcore is the same thing over and over again. So many me-too bands with little originality or variation. This band uses all the same elements, but presents them in a pretty unique way. Really impressed with this release, highly recommended.
• Perfect War Forever (2013, EP) This 5 song EP seems a little more experimental to me. One thing I liked about their first album was the mixing of catchy hooks with the more brutal djent style chugging. This album has plenty of the chugging, but is missing the catchy hooks. So it has a more droning type vibe, like some of Meshuggah's more recent albums. 'How to Survive Suicide' is the only song that has at least some of the catchiness of their full length. Anyways, the EP is enjoyable, but hopefully isn't a good indication of the band's direction for new material.
  

GNOSTIC:

• Engineering the Rule (2009) Reviewed by The Wolf: Atlanta based band featuring Atheist drummer Steve Flynn. Heavy. Fast. Technical. Brutal. This seems to pick up right where Unquestionable Presense would have left off. We have really over the top drumming and riffing, with a bit more hardcore/death metal vocalist. Sure to please any tech metal inthusiast. However, we also seem to have the same 90s-eque production with very 'scooped' mids and no bass whatsoever (unless he's playing by himself). This really seems to be a drummer's album, there are rarely any AC/DC moments where he 'establishes the grove'. They really go all out on every riff. This will be a great band to watch live. Must hear: "Visceral", "Wall of Lies", "Mindlock".
  

GOATWHORE:

• The Eclipse of Ages Into Black (2000)
  
• Funeral Dirge for the Rotting Sun (2003)
  
• A Haunting Curse (2006) A cross between black metal and death metal, with a little slayer for good measure. Guitars range from black metal style tremolo picking to some serious riffing, especially in their single 'Alchemy Of The Black Sun Cult'. Drumming again switches from more groovy stuff to continuous blasting and doublebass. The drumming isn't terribly complex, but is well performed, loud and tight. No weird time signatures, just intensity and precision. Vocals are raspy midrange stuff. This is intense stuff, the pummeling doesn't let up for a second. Basically, think of black metal performed by a band that are really good at playing their instruments, and who add a few groovy bits in to avoid being repetitive. Add nice production to the mix, and you get some angry and intense metal, nothing new, but so well done that you won't care.
• Carving Out The Eyes of God (2009) Not quite as good as their last album, but still a very worthy effort. This album definitely pushes the thrash side of the band a bit more. One thing I really love about Goatwhore is they manage to make unexpected riffs within a pretty simplistic frame. The songs are quite straight forward, but when you try and guess the next note they're about to play in a new riff, more often than not they do something other than what you expect. The songs are just a touch groovier and slower, which is the main reason I preferred "Haunting Curse", it was just an extra touch faster that gave it more intensity. But otherwise, excellent songs, worth checking out.
• Blood For The Master (2011) Very similar to their first two albums. While too many similar albums frequently leads to a band getting stale for me, the unexpected riffs and changes to songs, not to mention superb songwriting, keep me interested, even though I am expecting the unexpected. The production is also slightly more muffled than on their last one. Overall, if you liked their last two, you'll almost certainly love this one too, gotta admire them for their consistency.
• Constricting Rage of the Merciless (2014) More of the same (and I mean that in a good way). This band is the master of taking a pretty tried and true musical formula, and throwing in really really unexpected chord changes to create something kinda new. This album is enjoyable all the way through, although I do have to say that after each listen, I have trouble remembering any specific stand out songs. A few really signature riffs would help the album, but otherwise, it's as solid as any of their previous work.
  

GODLESS TRUTH:

• Another Disease (1994, Demo)
• Desperation (1998, MCD)
• Desperation (1998)
  
• Burning Existence (1999)
  
• Selfrealization (2001) Similar to their "Arrogance" album, the biggest shift is the production quality. This album has far more treble, and a more raw unrefined sound. That said, it's not a bad sound, the roughness around the edges ads to the brutality, and although the treble is way more accentuated, there's still enough low end to keep things semi-balanced (especially in the doublebass). I think I enjoyed "Arrogance" more, but this is still a decent album worth checking out.
  
• Arrogance Of Supreme Power (2004) If you know Dying Fetus, you know what to expect from Godless Truth. From the groove of the songs, to the tapping riffs, to the low vocals (well, those actually sound more like the gargles of Disgorge) to the midrange vocals that sound surprisingly like Jason Netherton. So nothing terribly new, however, I have to give credit where credit is due, this album is pretty fucking great. The riffs are well written, the production is excellent, the music is tight and the musicians are all masters of their instruments. This is fantastic stuff, and if you love Dying Fetus or Disgorge, I highly recommend this album, I expect it'll be spending a good deal of time in my cd player in the future.
• Limb Splitter (2006, Split) See review in the * section of the album reviews.
• Too Late To Stop My Hate (2010, EP) So, this might as well be a completely different band. I can really find no similarity to their previous music, instead, the band now sounds a lot like Obliveon (lots of medium speed alternate picking with the kick drum in perfect sync), or possibly the new Decrepit Birth, except the drumming isn't as fast. Vocals are midrange death metal growls. The EP contains 2 full songs (and they're pretty long, one is 7 minutes) and 1 outro, which is basically an acoustic reprise of the main theme from the first song. The music is decent, but I'm not sure how fans of the band will take such a strong departure from form, they may have done better to just scrap the band and reform under a brand new name. We'll see what happens when they release a new full length.
  

GODS OF EDEN:

• Gods Of Eden (2012, EP) I guess I'd have to call this progressive death metal, with just a touch of symphonic black metal and neo classical guitar. Another decent comparison would be these guys sound like Between The Buried And Me but without the silly bits. Vocals are midrange growls and screams, with then sung bits (very operatic voice style). Lots of noodling on guitar in a neo-classical kind of way. I'm pretty sure these drums are a drum machine, the page says it's a full band now, but this may have been recorded back when the band was still a one piece. Overall, the riffs have interesting enough chord progressions to keep my ear listening, and the guitarwork is certainly impressive. Worth grabbing the EP, I heard a few clips from their upcoming full length and they sound really impressive, so worth seeing where the band started.
• From The End Of Heaven (2015) Debut from the band (with only 2 songs re-recorded from their EP). Basically, its neo-classical opera, except played with electric guitars, blast beats and fast double bass. The result is really pleasing. Vocals are again, operatic, but then mixed with growls and screams at the more intense parts. Guitars are fast picked with heavy Spanish / medieval / middle eastern influences. Drumming is fast and furious. And a touch of keyboards to give it that symphonic feel. Fans of progressive metal will really dig this, if you want Game Of Thrones mixed with metal, this does a great job.
  

GOJIRA:

• Victim (1996, Demo)
• Possessed (1997, Demo)
• Saturate (1999, Demo)
• Wisdom Comes (2000, Demo)
  
• Terra Incognita (2001)
  
• The Link (2003) A little more straight forward than their 3rd album. This album explores much further the band's odd time signature off meter start and stop riffs, while there's a little less of the progressive elements (i.e., less keyboards). The sound is still big, but a little paired down as well (fewer overdubs on guitar, I presume). Also, a few of the chord progressions really remind me or "Obscura" era Gorguts, which helps add to the surprising twists these songs go through. Finally, vocalwise, this guy still sounds like Jens Kidman from Meshuggah, but he has a little more melody vs pure monotone yells, so more Jens Kidman from the "Contradiction Collapse" album era. Lots of great riffs, really strong song writing and performance. If you like math metal, this album is really enjoyable.
  
• The Link Alive (2004, Live CD/DVD)
• From Mars to Sirius (2005) These guys are a bit tough to classify. If I had to pick something similar, I might have to pick Immolation. Not because they sound anything like Immolation, they don't, but they have the same attitude, slower songs with really odd chord progressions and song structures. The band is primarily a death metal band, but mixed in is a healthy dose of more straight forward metal, like say Machine Head, and a number of progressive/experimental elements like symphonic keyboards, acoustic intros and interludes, and overall long songs that ignore the standard verse / chorus structure. Vocal wise, mostly it's Meshuggah style yelling, with a few spoken word / sung parts (but the main focus is the yelling). Drum wise, the music might be slowish, but that doesn't mean you don't get lots of super fast doublebass underneath, and complex fill like beats. The main thing you'll probably notice is just how heavy this band can get, the guitar sound is huge, and combined with the more pounding drum parts, this band is about as heavy as they come. Imagine an album of songs like 'God Of Emptiness' from Morbid Angel. My favorite track is probably 'The Heaviest Matter of the Universe', which is not only super heavy (as the name implies), but has some excellent squawks and excellent head banging riffs. A nice mixture of styles, the music is catchy and heavy, and eclectic enough to keep you guessing. Worth checking out.
  
• The Way of All Flesh (2008) This CD has pushed the more progressive elements of the band a bit. Most notably, the vocals, many of the songs use vocal processing to create some really odd sounding computer-aided vocals, not all that unlike Cynic. But there are also many sections of singing and growling like on previous CDs. A few of the riffs are a little more experimental as well, like a few bits wouldn't sound all that out of place on Gorgut's "Obscura" album. Otherwise, pretty similar to their previous material. I applaud the experimentation, but I think I preferred the more straight forward material on "Mars" and "Link" a bit more. Thankfully some of the songs like 'Yama's Messengers' still have a lot of that old character, and are my favorite songs on the album. So overall, more experimentation, but not a huge departure.
• L'Enfant Sauvage (2012) Another great album from the band. "L'Enfant Sauvage" starts off just right with a trademark Gojira pick-scrape riff, followed by the usual barrage of mid-paced chugging with double bass underneath. It's all about the riffs, lots of heavy and catchy riffs. My favorite song is probably 'The Gift Of Guilt', it starts with a soso tapped riff, but quickly shifts into this chugged riff that contains this evil sounding whammy bar dive-bomb, and is accentuated at the end with two quick squawks. Just fantastic riff making, heavy and unique sounding. A few of the songs are so so, I'm not a big fan of the short interlude 'The Wild Healer', sounds like something from a children's television show. But overall the album has more than enough good songs to solidify its place in the Gojira catalog.
  

GORATORY:

• Orgasm Induced Diarrhea (2002) Sort of a cross between Dying Fetus and Cryptopsy. The groovy parts are very much Dying Fetus, but the drummer also has those "twice as fast as a human should be able to do" blast beats that Flo from Cryptopsy loves to do. A very solid release, while there's nothing terribly original here, the riffs are good, the production is great (again, think Dying Fetus's "Stop At Nothing" album, for example), and who wouldn't want to listen to 40 minutes of the groovier parts from Dying Fetus. These guys must be a lot of fun live. Also gotta love the requisite song titles: 'Cream Of Fetus', 'Severed Fuck Stump' or 'Pig Fucker', and plenty of sound clips between songs. So anyways, not a must have, but after you've bought all the must have stuff, this should be the very next thing to buy.
• Rice On Suede (2004) Pretty similar to their last album with a few tweaks. First, a little more speed this time, a little less groove (so they lose a little of that Dying Fetus feel). The sound has a little more treble and a little less bass, which I'm not a huge fan of, but it's still good production. Otherwise, a good combination of blasts, double bass, technical riffs and gutteral vocals (sometimes so gutteral they're humorous). The drummer does some interesting stuff on the snare, first, he may in fact have two snares, one with the snare set on, the other off, so he has both the normal snare sound and the more hollow tenor drum sound which he alternates between. He also does these crazy two times as fast blast beats which he's achieving (I assume) using this new technique I've been hearing about of vibrating the stick between the drumhead and the rim. The songs are a little too self similar in spots, and some of the riffs are a little bit too "change the tempo every few seconds", but otherwise, it's enjoyable and worth grabbing when you get the chance.

GOREFEST:

• Mindloss (1991) While containing some of the mid-paced riffing style from their 2nd album (which is still one of my favorite death metal albums of all time), this album is a little more frantic with Slayeresque boom-chick style drumming, tremolo picked riffs and dive bomb solos. The song writing isn't quite as refined, but there's still a lot of good and memorable riffs here, and a few standout songs that kick ass (such as 'Confessions Of A Serial Killer', 'Mental Misery' and 'Gorefest'). Jan-Chris' vocals are a little more gravely too. Productionwise, the sound is clear but quiet, they could have made the mix a little louder so prepare to twist that volume knob. Good album, but not as mind blowing as "False".
  
• False (1993) False is probably one of the best written albums I've ever heard, the song writing skills of this band is unmatched. Slow and fast stuff, great production, this band really knows when to bring in the double kicks for their maximum effect. And the guitars get really low.
• The Eindhoven Insanity (1993, Live) A live CD taken from Gorefest's performance at the Eindhoven musicfest. The CD was made just for the hell of it, but the performance is surprisingly good, and the sound is very clean and powerful for a live album. Impressive.
• Erase (1994) This album is good, but the guitar sound is too dry, not menacing enough. The songs aren't as catchy as the ones on False. I expected better from the band. Still enough good material to make the album listenable.
• Fear (EP)
• Soul Survivor (1996)
• Chapter 13 (1998)
• La Muerte (2005) Wow. That's the best way to describe this cd. The early 90s was a magical time for death metal, the heyday of the genre some say, and Holland's Gorefest was certainly one of the best. But then a few so-so albums and any number of other factors led to a breakup. Now fastforward 7 years later, and the band gets back together. What do they do? Do they tour for years and year playing their old material, living off past glory? (Many other have) Nope, they come out with a brand new cd of material that's just as good as their cds of old. Again I say wow. A fantastic example of why some bands do need to get back together. As with their album "False" the key is great song writing. This cd isn't a move forward in any substantial way, each and every track definitely sounds like the band in every way, like there was no 7 year break. But the songs are just great, Jan-Chris's voice is as distinctive as ever, the production is thick and powerful. Yes, the album does have a few blues based riffs here and there that I'm not as big a fan of, but then you get gems like the doublebass / chugging riff half way through 'Malicious Intent', or the blasts in 'Rogue State', the odd chord progression in 'The Call', or the "chunk, chunk, chunk" riff in 'Man To Fall'. These moments are what metal is all about. An extra DVD has a 20min interview/in-the-studio stuff, which is pretty interesting, lots of good talk with the band about the group getting back together and the album making process. The interviews are all in Dutch but it has english subtitles, so no big deal. This is followed by 5 minutes of a live performance from 2005, and then another 5min or so discussing the band's equipment (drums and guitar). Buy this cd asap, Gorefest is back and prepared for a long healthy future.
• Rise To Ruin (2007) Just as good as their last album. Really powerful music, fast, thrashing, angry, painful like a hammer to the head. The album starts a little odd with a fast song that then contains a rather soft interlude in the middle. But then the band gets down to business. I particularly like the blasting in 'The War On Stupidity', and the opening to the song 'Rise To Ruin' is one of those riffs that only Gorefest can do justice to. Just about all the songs are really strong, no filler material here. The production is excellent again. Gorefest keep plowing ahead with renewed vigor, a definite must buy for the month.
  

• Her Gash I Did Slash (1998, Demo) As the title implies, brutal grind with silly movie sound clips at the beginning of each song (as well as the title track, song titles also include 'Stab Me Till I Cum' and 'Limb by Limb'). The band reminds me a little of Carcass from their Necrotism days (Low vocals with the occasional black metalish scream), although the riffs aren't quite as inventive. Good sound, decent playing, decent riffs, but not enough originality to set them apart from all the other bands out there. But if you're into the style, it's well done. To contact the band, write to Gorerotted, PO Box 18516, London, E11 3UJ, United Kingdom.
• Mutilated In Minutes... (2000) Sorta Dying Fetus with Carcass vocals. While they don't have the finesse that 10 years as a band gives you (this is their debut), there's some great, great riffs on this album (like riff2 off of 'Bed 'em, Behead 'em'). Lots of fast drumming, fast picking, and plenty of intensity. The production is clear, but still needs a bit more bass. If you want some good old school grind / death metal, look no further, these guys will surely please.
• Only Tools And Corpses (2004) Very quick paced blasting death metal. Talk about high strung, these guys blast and blast and blast, with lots of high pitched screaming. While not the most original stuff in the world, there's enough energy and cool riffs here and there to keep my attention focused on the music. The sound is a little lacking in the bass end of the spectrum, but that's a stylistic choice more than a deficiency, their nice clear and razor sharp guitar tone helps define their sound. Nothing revolutionary, just a good solid release and plenty of fun to listen to.
• A New Dawn For The Dead (2005) Holy Muffled batman. What happened here? I had hoped after their last release for a tad more bass, but instead we have some seriously muffled production. Ick! Ok, beyond that, it's basically what you'd expect, screamed and gurgled vocals, fast double bass, blasting, etc. Reminds me a little more of the last few Iniquity albums, but the Carcass influence is still there. I don't know, fans of the band will certainly enjoy this cd since it's more of the same, but there's really nothing new enough or extreme enough here to get me all excited. Best to try before you buy.
  

• Stabwound Intercourse (2000, EP)
  
• Bleeding Profusely (2001) Nice, angry, brutal death metal. No real surprises, tons of blasting and double bass from Dave Culross (that in itself means this is a must buy). Vocals are medium pitch growling. Guitar wise lots of tremolo picking and chunky palmmutted downpicking. Several of the songs actually include bach inspired melodies, mind you, they're performed on heavily distorted guitars and with blast beats underneath (this ain't no Yngwie). Overall sorta reminds me of the first Infestdead album, but with a real drummer. Excellent, thick production. This music won't leave you humming any tunes or anything, but you will be definitely be brutalized. Highly recommended.
• Masticate to Dominate (2003) While not quite as instantly catchy as their last CD, after a listen or two I definitely got into this album. No Dave on drums, but this guy is cool too. I also now know exactly what a gorgasm is thanks to Jon Zig's cover art (you have to open the CD to see what I mean). Otherwise, more of the same from the last album, a few less bach inspired melodies, the production is a minor, minor step down, probably not a recording issue, it's just not quite as scooped as the last one was in the final mix. Still enjoy the songs, some good moshable bits, and plenty of blasting. If you liked the last album, you should get this one too.
• Orgy Of Murder (2011) Back after a long hiatus with almost all new members. This is pretty similar to their previous material, but basically no bach inspired melodies this time, the focus is on old school death metal pretty much exclusively. Lots of blasting, double kicks, tremolo riffs and moshable chunky bits. If you're a fan of old school Cannibal Corpse, this album has a lot to offer, nothing spectacularly unique, just good song writing and excellent performance.
• Destined to Violate (2014) So wait, were you expecting this band to do something radically new or different? A band called Gorgasm? Well, I suppose Gorguts reinvented their sound half way through their career, so anything is possible, but no, this album is yet another death metal blastathon in the same style as past efforts. Similar to "Orgy", very little Bach stuff, mostly just strong powerful death metal, blasts, double bass, super fast picking. Decent production, but it's never been as since as it was with "Bleeding Profusely". Riffs and songs are generally high quality, highly enjoyable album, if you enjoyed their previous material you'll enjoy this too, no surprises.
• Sadichist (2024, EP) After a 10 year absence, the band is back with a short 3 song EP. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect, super blasting, short, to the point songs. The same classical elements in parts. The sound is a little fuzzier than normal, but still brutal. A great re-introduction to the band, hopefully we get another full length soon.
  

• And Then Comes Lividity (1990, Demo)
• Considered Dead (1991) High quality straight ahead death metal. The production is bottom heavy and thick, with lots of guitars layered on top of one another. There are lots of great riffs and good drumming, nothing super original, but well worth listening to.
• The Erosion of Sanity (1993) One of Quebec's real success stories. Their music certainly isn't anything new, just well done, technical, powerful death metal. Don't expect originality, but it's great music to mosh to. The recording quality is a bit muddier than their last album.
• Obscura (1998) First, forget everything you knew about this band, the music on this CD isn't even close to previous albums. The new Gorguts is a much darker, technical band, with crushing riffs, perverse of key-notes and lots of  squawks. These rhythms are really, really difficult to play, at times their brilliant, at times they're just messy and their complexity sometimes gets in the way of the groove. Some songs remind me of Morbid Angel, but with crystal clear, bass heavy production. The vocals are high pitched, and sound like he's completely lost his vocal chords and he's being eviscerated by a wild animal. Overall, a good album, a very non traditional approach to death metal that's worth taking a listen to at least once.
• From Wisdom To Hate (2001) I've heard this new album described as a mix between Obscura and The Erosion Of Sanity, but overall it's still very much in the obscura vein, except the songs are a lot tighter and more focused. Basically the chaos of Obscura with stronger song structures. The result is the best album I've heard this year so far. Each song is great and quite memorable, with my favorite probably being track 4, 'The Quest For Equilibrium', which is by far the best 'Just this side of Doom Slow' song I've heard since Morbid Angel's 'Where The Slime Live'. This album just will not leave my cd player. If you enjoyed the chaos of their last album, but thought it went a little too far off the deep end, this album revolutionizes without losing the listener. A must purchase.
• "...And Then Comes Lividity" / Demo Anthology (2003, Rare) It seems like it's been forever since we've heard anything from the band, ever since the drummer committed suicide, they seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. Not that I don't understand, talk about a traumatic experience, but the band is just so good, I can't help but want new music from them. Ok, so this isn't new music, but at least it's a sign that the band is still out there and thinking of music. As opposed to just a reissue of their first Demo, this is a 18 track anthology of both their first demo, and preproduction songs from their first 3 albums. While the production on the beginning of the album is pretty horrific, it's kinda fun to hear the beginnings of many of their more classic songs, including 5 songs off Obscura in different levels of development. The album ends with a live track from a concert in Val d'Or, which is a little muffled, but still fun to mosh to. This CD will probably only be loved by collectors and huge fans of the band, but to me it's more a sign of hope, that the band has taken a brief look back at its path and is now ready to push forward.
• Live In Rotterdam (2006, LiveCD) Wow, this takes me back to the first time I saw Gorguts in Montreal back in '95. That concert, like this CD, is pre-Obscura era, "The Erosion Of Sanity" had just come out, and the band had gone through some serious lineup changes, but it didn't seem to slow them down one bit. This 8 song live album contains mostly material from their 2nd album, with a few tracks from their first. The sound quality is decent, it's definitely a bootleg, but you can hear the drums / guitar / vocals, even the bass, very clearly. Just don't expect them to be very loud. Also, the second guitar is too quiet in the mix, but I'd guess it got recorded that way, so they probably couldn't do much about it after the fact. Also, the first track 'With Their Flesh He'll Create', one of my favorite songs, starts half way through, the first half of the song apparently never got recorded and so doesn't appear on this cd. Performance wise, these guys are playing some really hard shit, and they play it with ease. It's a little rough around the edges, but I did enjoy this cd, and recommend it for any fan of the band. If the first track hadn't started half way through, I'd really have nothing to complain about at all.
  
• Colored Sands (2013) Yay, Gorguts is back after almost 12 years! This album is similar to "From Wisdom" stylistically, but has a tiny touch of extra chaos. So expect it to be highly disharmonic, chaotic song structures and time signatures. At some points it almost sounds like the whole band is improvising (ala "Obscura"), although after closer inspection, it's obvious that this stuff is very carefully planned. Some highlights include the slow riff towards the end of 'Forgotten Arrows' that's almost doom metal in style. The acoustic part in 'Colored Sands' that leads to a super heavy riff that's just huge. This is followed by 'The Battle Of Chamdo' which is a nice unsettling classical orchestral piece. And I love the closing riff to 'Absconders'. Drummer John Longstreth does a good job of backing up Luc Lemay and the rest of the band, his trademark Origin drumming style really isn't showcased here, and instead he explores a whole new style in terms of fills and beats. Overall the album is good, and I appreciate the experimenting, but I feel like the songs on their last album were a little more instantly memorable. So I think overall I'd still have to say their last was the best. But hopefully this means more music from the band in the future.
• Pleiades' Dust (2016, EP) Inspired by Meshuggah's "I" EP, which is one long song, Gorguts decided to do a 33min EP that contains a single long composition, broken into several thematic parts, but no breaks. The song is very much in the style of their last album, and within that style, the song is very successful, with plenty of slow parts, fast blasting, quiet interludes and loud thumping. As a piece of abstract musical art, this album gets super high marks. But as someone who likes a little bit more "standard structure", I have to say I do miss the Gorguts from albums 1, 2 and 4. I appreciate immensely what Luc has done here, from the atonal themes, to the chaotic time signature changes, the odd sounds, this song is a highly unsettling piece of work that has tremendous mood. But I just prefer something a little less abstract. So if you dug "Colored Sands", I think they'll love this. But I'll hope the next album is a little closer to "From Wisdom To Hate".
  

• Splatter Fecal Matter (2006, Demo)
  
• Manic Thoughts of Perverse Mutilation (2008) Similar to bands such as Disgorge, Devoured, and Deranged. So fast technical death metal with gurgled vocals. The sound is decent, not quite as monsterous as the new Devoured album, but in the same general style. The thing that really makes this band is they tend to pull out at least one super memorable riff per song. There's plenty of the fast Disgorge style chaotic stuff that's ok, but then they shift into a nice sqwack riff or an interesting doublebass pattern, or a nice slow moshable bit, it really helps keep the album interesting. The band is nothing new but the good songwriting pushed them beyond the pack to the next level.
• Awakening Pestilent Beings (2010) Pretty similar to their last album. The only big difference is the production, while a little messy, the band's last album had a lot of intensity to it, the sound was really raw and noisy. This album the sound is more muffled, one could argue it may be a cleaner mix, but it loses that raw energy that I liked. Otherwise, still plenty of speed, squawks, low gargled vocals. The song writing is at about the same level, some good hooks. The band also breaks up the album with a 5 minute song called 'Interlude' which is primarily acoustic guitar with some electric soloing (think of Death's song 'Cosmic Sea'), it works well to build mood and give you a rest from the usual craziness (although it might be a tad long). Maybe take a listen to it before purchase to check out the mix, but overall I think fans of the first will like this one too.
• Divine Indigenous Sacrament (2018) After a lengthy break, the band is back, and there's no real surprises. Technical death metal like Disgorge or Pathology, with a good mix of fast blasting, mid paced and slow sludgy stuff. Again, just enough memorable riffs to hold everything together (like for example the ending to 'Prophetic Cataclysm'). The production is about half way between their first two albums, not quite as razor sharp as their first, but not muffled like their second. This is high quality second tier technical death metal, highly enjoyable, well worth the purchase.
  

• Ghouls Of Grandeur (2003) From the opening seconds of this album, the band has one purpose, to try and fuck up your eardrums. This became very apparent to me one monday morning when I had accidentally set my volume way too high and hit play on this cd, causing this sudden deafening roar of angry screaming and double bass. It was so cool I almost wanted to not adjust the volume and just keep it like that for the whole cd (I say almost because I was at work and knew if I kept it that loud, someone would come into my office and kick my ass within the first 30 seconds). The band covers a lot of different styles, from death metal to thrash to 80s glam (some of the guitar solos and a vocal line or two). Production wise, lots of layered guitars, a really good mix of high and low end, the way all metal should be. Guitarwise, a mixture of tremolo picking and fast downpicked riffs. Vocals are mainly high pitched screams with oodles of reverb. The drummer, while not a huge fan of blast beats (there are some blasts now and again though), is a big fan of fast pumping double bass with a good fast snare line overtop. Something about the band for some reason reminds me of slayer with a much bigger sound, and yet the band sounds nothing like Slayer. Maybe it's the attitude? Another comparison would have to be the second Crusher album. Or the thick and angry sound of early Entombed. The thing this cd really has going for it is intensity, you just want to listen to it loud and leap around. A real release of primal energy. Very, very impressive first release.
• 10 Steps to Hell (2005) From the opening scream and fast guitar, you may be under the impression that we're in for "Ghouls Of Grandeur" part 2, but really this cd has a few fundamental differences, and they aren't for the better. First, the guitarsound doesn't have as much reverb to it and isn't as densely layered, so you lose some of that bigness they had before. Second, while many of the riffs are good, a lot of them are repeated way too much, like for example the last riff in 'Separation Of My Soul' is repeated for 1 min and 35 seconds straight. That's a long time to repeat a riff. This, along with the inclusion of soft intros and some long slow parts causes a lot of the frantic energy to disappear. Now you know me, I think variety is important in order to avoid monotony. But their last album just had this energy to it, this unstoppable speed, and this album just doesn't have the same feel, especially in the middle sections. Like for example 'Unborn' has a section half way through where the guitar plays quarter notes and the drumming is all slow. The whole song could be dropped as far as I'm concerned, making way for more intense stuff like 'Breed Apart' which has a nice doublebass-gallop riff, and whose slow riffs accentuate the song rather then brings the energy to a screeching halt. There are a number of good fast songs, but the slow songs are just too so-so, and overall it makes the album unmemorable. I'd have to give this cd a pass, buy their first album instead.

• The Power Of Inner Strength (1995) Featuring Ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, they sound just like old Slayer. This is not a bad thing. While not getting any prizes for originality, they produce well written riff oriented metal.
• Nemesis (1997) The band really doesn't do anything in this album that they didn't do in their last album, many of the sounds, the riffs, they're almost identical to stuff from "Power". However, it's done well, and with lots of intensity, and I do love arabian scales and harmonized guitars. If they'd only push a bit more in the originality area, and try to progress with their music (progress as in take it in a new direction, or stick with their current direction but trying something a little different with each new release). But otherwise, there are lots of good songs, greats riffs, and excellent production.
• Solidify (1999) Ok, I've sort of given up that this band will ever produce an original sound / style, so I'll instead speak about how they rate within the confines of what they are. And within those confines, they're pretty damn good. I generally prefer the riffs in this album to the last, they have a few of those parts where you just go "Ya, that's cool." And of course, they have all the other elements that make Grip Inc. what they are (heaviness, squawks, double kicks, arabian riffs and solos). A few hohum songs, but in general good song writing, and always a clear and powerful production. Sure, they sound like an 80s thrash band, but if it's good (which it is), who cares? If you liked the last two, third time's a charm.
• Incorporated (2004) One thing that made the last cd so cool was the opening, a nice powerful riff from the getgo to get and keep your attention. It's like the band sat down in front of you, grabbed your head, and said "Ok, here I am, and I'm gonna have your undivided attention for the next 45 minutes whether you want me to or not. So listen up bitch." While this album does start with a loud moment, it quickly goes into this spanish guitar riff that's just sorta there, and then some vocals that just sorta are, and then the distorted guitars come back in and are pretty noisy and you're not sure exactly what sort of riff is being played. One of the nice things about the band on their previous albums has been how precise and tight they are, and I'm sorry to say that tightness seems a bit lost on this album, replaced with a fuzzier tone that falls short of really becoming atmospheric, or whatever it was they were going for (although the production is pretty similar to their previous albums). About 3 minutes into the first song they go back to something a little more thrash oriented, but again, sort of noisy. Track 2 starts with something pretty cool riff wise, but then again, goes into this soft part that is sort of corny with this weird keyboard thing going on. Song after song, something is just a bit off or wrong, too experimental? Too odd? Too corny? There's still a few good songs, like track 4 'Endowment of Apathy' which has this tremolo picked on / off riff that's pretty catchy (with a squawk or two for good measure). But then track 5 starts with this flamingo thing that goes on way too long. Track 6, 'Skintrade', then is back to some good thrashy stuff and fast doublekicks, Lombardo style. The track 7 has this odd string section thing going on. A very uneven album with some good songs and some bad ones. Maybe if you only listen to the even track numbers only you'll be ok. I'd recommend this is as a definite try before you buy.
  

• Grinding (1996, Demo) Performed under the band name Genocide.
• Vilification (1998, Demo) Performed under the band name Genocide.
• Promo 2000 (2000, Demo)
• Defiled (2001) First impression is this sounds a little like Origin's "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas", from the somewhat nasally tremolo picked guitars to the spastic too fast for words blast beats (this album was released first BTW). But there are a few marked differences, such as having primarily a single vocalist who does a low and hoarse sort of growl, and a highly distorted bass guitar in the same vein as Seance's famous album "Saltrubbed Eyes". But overall I feel the band does bring something fresh to the table, I know I've been going off a lot recently about clone bands, well, I won't classify these guys as clones, they are doing their own thing, and that thing is pretty fucking sick. While not as instantly classic as Origin's second album, this cd is fast, brutal, has memorable riffs, and overall you feel you're ears have been violated after listening to it, which is always a good thing. And hell, I think these guys have my favorite song title, the album ends with the classic 'The Excrement Has Taken His Life', that is just awesome. This cd is a little hard to find, but well worth any trouble it takes you to locate it, go out and buy this now.
• Human Race Deserves To Die (2005) While the album retains a similar style to their previous album, I'm afraid I just don't find the sound or songs as unique. Soundwise, the recording level is sort of low, the distorted bass is way down in the mix, thinking back, I think the big distorted bass actually had a lot to do with the unique sound the band had. Songwise, the riffs just aren't sticking with me as well as the stuff off of Defiled did. The core style is still there, ultrafast drumming, low vocals, lots of tremolo picked riffs. And it's certainly not a bad album and is well worth a listen, but with a slight shift in the sound and too many been-there done-that riffs, this album doesn't hit that same level of uncontrolled chaos that made their last album so enjoyable. It's kinda tough to explain, it's like an old friend who's lost their soul I suppose, it looks like your friend, sounds like your friend, but you just get this empty feeling inside for some reason. Decent, but a bit of a disappointment.
• Mankind Carries The Seeds Of Hell (2010) First impressions, the sound has taken a dip on this CD, it's really muffled sounding with lots of bass and almost no treble. Also, I feel like the band took their love of Origin a little bit too far this time. They've always been an influence, but that influence is just a bit too direct this time. Ok, now that I've got the bad stuff out of the way, there is still a lot to like on this album. The songs are still ultra fast, the drumming is unrelenting (the doublebass almost never lets up, like Krisiun) and I'd say that some of the aggression from the first CD is back, so this album is worth looking into. But I just wish they'd bring back some of their more unique elements, like the super distorted bass. Worth checking out.
• Martyr Creation (2016) Sort of the half way mark between "Mankind" and "Defiled". Sound wise, this is a nice middle ground between the huge distorted chaos of "Defiled" and the weak production of "Mankind". The mix is way better here, very clear, louder, with plenty of treble and bass. Music wise, the songs take a step up, they're not as chaotic and complex as "Defiled", they are certainly more straight forward, but the riffs are very catchy and the arrangements are solid. In all other ways, this is what you'd expect from the band in terms of the chord progressions, Origin influences, the insane drumming and vicious vocals. This may in fact be their best album, as long as the main element you loved about them isn't the huge wall of sound from their debut. Check it out!
• A Path To Ruin (2023, EP) Afraid I'm not really digging this EP. The band started off with ridiculous speed and chaos in their early years, then their last couple were a little more straight forward but still strong, but this album is way too straight forward. The songs are far slower, and involve the same riff played 8-16 times in a row. Most of the technical elements and strange time signatures are gone. The riffs are ok , but nothing too special. The line up changes over the years must have taken their toll on the band, if this is just an experiment that they needed to get out of their system, so be it, but I hope we're back to some of the crazier elements for their next full length album.
  

Hmm, how does one start to describe GWAR. I guess their biggest strength is the fact they perform on stage dressed like beasts from hell, and spend the show performing unspeakably disgusting acts, like lopping each other to pieces with 20 foot battle axes. And they sing about all sorts of strange stuff, the band has a sense of humor if nothing else. If you ever get a chance to see the live, go for it (if you don't mind being splattered with blood).

• Hell-o! (1988) Strong punk roots mix with metal and really messed up song lyrics (song titles include such wonderful selection as 'I'm In Love (With A Dead Dog)' and 'Je M'Appelle J. Cousteau') to form a strange musical combination. I don't know if I should laugh or run away screaming. Some memorable moments (mainly due to silly lyrics), although the riffs themselves are more often than not unmemorable, the guitar solos are definitely in the wanker area, and the production is ok but nothing great. You'll sit there and keep asking youself "what the fuck is this?" for hours. Is that enough to persuade you to buy this CD? That's a question that only you can answer.
• Scumdogs of the Universe (1990) Theatrics aside, the music on this CD is pretty good. Catchy riffs, nothing ultra spectacular, but good strong metal, with some mild punk influences.
• America Must Be Destroyed (1992) Those wacky guys from Gwar (and one women, sorry, didn't mean to forget you, please, put that axe down!) Track 1 'Ham On The Bone' totally slaps you around with some killer vocals, and is a perfect example of the two levels on which you can enjoy the band, you gotta love the swords, makeup and theatrics, but then there's the more serious level, as in this song kicks some serious ass regardless of the latex and silly lyrics. 'Have You Seen Me' is also a fun track, it starts off like a live performance from a swing club (although you notice the lyrics are a bit twisted), then degrades into some serious guitar carnage. There's a few filler songs in the middle, but there's a lot of great and memorable material here. Join in the silliness, bring your pet dinosaur and enter the pit, hulk smash!!!
  
• The Road Behind (1994, EP)
• This Toilet Earth (1994)
• Rag Na Rok (1995)
• Carnival Of Chaos (1997)
• We Kill Everything (1999)
• Violence Has Arrived (2001) Ok, the costumes are cool, but if you don't make good music, I'm not gonna buy the cd. That's sorta how I've felt about the last few gwar cds, which have been a little too experimental for my tastes. But after a recent live show, and hearing the song 'Immortal Corruptor' (which is definitely my favorite song on this cd), I decided to pick up the album, and am happy to see the band get back to their more metal roots. Songwise, plenty of chunky riffs and fast songs, the tunes are more thrashy and that's a good thing. While the lyrics are still demented, there's not as much thematic variety to the songs as say on "Scumdogs", the band seems to focus a bit more on just providing a good solid cd of tunes to mosh to, and that's cool. The violence has arrived indeed. If you haven't been too excited about gwar recently, I recommend taking a listen to this cd, it might sway you back their way.