
Awesome French technical death metal not named Gojira!
-- Gorod --
28/12/2018
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Melodic death metal |
■ | Progressive Metal |
■ | Technical death metal |
Album artists:
■ | Julien "Nutz" Deyres | Vocals |
■ | Mathieu Pascal | Guitar |
■ | Nicolas Alberny | Guitar |
■ | Benoit Claus | Bass |
■ | Karol Diers | Drums |
Review written by Glenn Van Bockstaele.
Gorod is a French technical death metal band formed in
1997 under the name Gorgasm. In 2005 they changed their name to Gorod (a change
for the better, in my opinion) and under that moniker they’ve released 5 albums
and 2 EPs between 2005 and 2017. And two months ago these French freaks unleashed
their sixth album, Æthra, released through French record label Overpowered
Records. The album kicks off with “Wolfsmond” that instantly injects you with high-octane,
melodic death metal riffs, grunts, yells and whispers and frequent tempo
changes. All thrown into one well-structured opening track climaxing into an
epic guitar solo and fading into one final moody guitar riff. All setting the
style and tone for the rest of the album. Talk about making an entrance!
After that badass opener it’s on to “Bekhten’s Curse.”
A song with a catchy main melody and vocals that both made me think about their
famous fellow countrymen by the name of Gojira! Both Gorod’s Julien Deyres and
Gojira’s Joe Duplantier posses attention grabbing voices and both are more than
capable to go for hellish screaming as well as more relaxed singing. And both
bands play a slightly exotic type of melodic death metal that’s aggressive yet always
technical and never over the top. ÆThra’s title track starts off with a gentle
progressive rock section that gradually gets louder and louder and eventually
turns into another groovy death metal section. The title track continues
transitioning between blast beats and progressive melodies until the end. The next
two songs, “The Sentry” and “Hina” respectively, put more emphasis on the
typically death metal stuff. Dissonant riffs, sudden tempo changes, deep growls
and drum beats that nail everything together. But still, both songs leave sufficient
room for some sweet progressive metal tunes as is the case all the tracks on
“Æthra.”
The sixth song, “And The Moon Turned Black,” is
without a doubt one of the heaviest and most hectic tunes on the album and
reminds me a lot of Cannibal Corpse, in particular vocalist Julien goes deep
down for some grunting that would make George “Skullgrinder” Fischer proud!
Fuck yeah! Then it’s on to “Chandra And The Maiden” that shows off Gorod’s more
technical side more profoundly with a slight touch of deathcore, a bit like After
The Burial. Up next is “Goddess of Dirt,” another fast-paced and viciously
beating death metal sledgehammer but this song also includes a metalcore
breakdown section in its middle part to great effect. Then the band brings out
some Meshuggah like melodies in the track “Inexorable” surrounded by galloping
rhythms. And finally there’s “A Light Unseen,” a song with bizarrely upbeat
riffs combined with the typically ferocious vocals and drum beats. It’s a weird
combination, but this set of joyful power metal inspired melodies spiced up
with death metal fury is more than enjoyable! And with that original and highly
effective finale, this rollercoaster of an album comes to an end!
Well, all that’s left for me to say here is that
Gorod’s sixth release is one necessary purchase for any death metal fan out
there. Especially if you don’t mind your typically death metal ingredients being
served with a tasty side dish consisting of clean vocals, progressive melodies
and even some weirdly optimistic riffs. Gorod’s not afraid to cross musical
borders and play something that’s both aggressive and accessible. Now go and
check out the cinematic music video for the song “Bekthen’s Curse” here below!
85/100