I guess this CD was originally released by Deadsun Records when this French act was still called Gorgasm, but they've since changed their name and now Willowtip's reissuing its technical, melodic death metal mastery in all its glory, with two new bonus tracks to boot. This is an odd one in that the band combines absolutely stunning melodic, complex death metal riffs (the likes of which are rarely heard these days) with rather mundane vocal growls/snarls and a couple of simplistic grooves that don't exactly do much to counterbalance the band's otherwise impressive display of both technical proficiency and riff writing abilities. So the end result is both "Holy shit!" and "Blah.", though thankfully the former (and much more positive) reaction far outweighs the detrimental elements of the release, so while far from a landmark record for the genre, it does cement the band's footing and lead the listener to hope for bigger and better things to come. "Hunt to the Weaks" very unexpectedly tosses around a couple of energetically thrashy picking patterns and winding dissonant riffs, granted the standard alternate picking run that follows is sadly stale in comparison as the track starts to lose steam by proceeding to shapeshift around without much consideration for where it started - a common problem that actually affects most of the compositions herein, thus making it hard to select true standouts. Basically every song has its ups and downs, and the ups prevail despite the downs creating enough of a hindrance to cause some confused head scratching. "Beware of Tramps" boasts a few quick flurries of way over the top 80's virtuoso lead bursts that I'd love to hear developed further, and they also exemplify a fairly strong use of Swedish sounding alternate picked riffing in this one. "Rusted Nails Attack" opens slower and after a number of speedy bursts drops a quick staccato passage before blowing through some wild leads; but then "Harmony in Torture" takes it one step further with some Cannibal Corpse-esque brutal death metal riffing that actually makes for a powerful shift as it contrasts the bulk of the playing big time. And, despite its variations, this is actually among the more linear tracks, progressing nicely on its way to make for one of the most fluid listens herein. The same can be said for the shockingly effective Meshuggah-esque rhythmic chunkiness and industrial noise textures backing "Neuronal Disorder State", which is a hell of a departure from the other songs but also marks a favorite of mine. The clean riffing and melodic leads in tracks like the jazzy opening "Intro" and "Earth Pus" are fucking awesome though, so I'd really like to hear that aspect of their approach see a bit more airtime as well. The recording takes some getting used to but is actually pretty effective when all is said and done. If nothing else, there's a great sense of clarity to the mix that lets all of the dual guitar work really show itself nicely, not to mention often giving the excellent bass work just enough room to leave a mark. My biggest point of contention would still be the rhythm section, though. I think the drums need more low-end punch, and the bass needs to be even louder - both to help fill the gaps in the mix and increase the listener's awareness of how strong the bassist is in following the guitars as well as weaving his own path in between the tactfully flashy drum work and the over the top guitars. They do keep the vocals pretty well in line with the instruments though, which is critical here, as quite honestly the vocals here are a definite weak link and could've proved immeasurable damaging were they not handled with this level of consideration in the mix. The two bonus tracks sound a little thicker, but actually come across rawer and dryer, sounding more like demo tracks or rough cuts to me, so both sessions have their own little minor setbacks. Other than that? Well, the layout doesn't really do much for me. I don't care for the band logo or the typefaces, and the artwork is pretty bland across the board. But worse still are the lyrics, which constantly reference the band name as some sort of "city of all perversions" (or "city of sex and death", and make very little sense in the process. Quite bluntly, I can't imagine worse lyrics accompanying such promisingly colorful music: "Pooring dismembered bitch, Splattered clitoris, Bloody place of tears, Gorod, no escape." Absolutely terrible. From a musical standpoint, though, there are definitely a lot of chops to work with. I don't think there's enough variety to carry the weight of 50+ minutes, but they do somehow manage to get by on that front. The bottom line here is killer riffs, though. The songs themselves need to harness more focus and control over the way that the riffs piece together and how the structures progress, but when they nail it, damn do they ever nail it. Definitely a flawed release, and at this rate I doubt the band will ever impress me with their lyrics, but fuck that... if they can get everything in order musically I'll be all fucking over it.
[Willowtip]
Running time - 51:07, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Gutting Job, Harmony in Torture, Neuronal Disorder State]
Willowtip - http://www.willowtip.com
