Mose Giganticus

Gift Horse

Written by: PP on 09/12/2010 01:58:27

Have you ever thought about how Mastodon would sound like with vocoded vocals and some synth punk thrown in for good measure? Me neither, but apparently Mose Giganticus have, for that's essentially what's happening on their latest album "Gift Horse". Sounds weird? That's because it is. To mix things up even more, you'll hear influence and parallels to bands like Melvins, Andrew W.K, and even industrial metallers Ministry in the mix. What an odd release, this is, and on paper it sounds like a mess.

Quite the opposite. The first impression is a more melodic Mastodon from "Leviathan"-era (think "Blood And Thunder"), still punishing when it comes to groove, but less rooted in metal by the sounds of it. It toys with sludge metal, which is its primary genre, but the synths reel in a curious electronica reference, and the industrial metal pumping on the background functions as an interesting contrast to the vocoder-based vocal effect. Cynic fans in particular should find this appealing. You'll likely not have heard anything like this before, and it's served to you on a progressive plate with songs evolving and fluctuating like there's no tomorrow.

In the midst of it all, the band somehow find a red thread to make it all sound better than just intriguing, that thread being memorable melody lines and intense groove to draw in a skeptical listener once and for good. Like Mastodon, they utilize riffs that come in waves, but inject it with a ton of synth melody and strange 70s styled psychedelia to make it all sound refreshingly original. Coupled with flair for writing catchy songs, it's a surprisingly functional mixture of a whole lot of different styles without lacking cohesion at all.

7

Download: Last Resort, Demon Tusk
For the fans of: Mastodon, Baroness, Melvins, Andrew W.K, Cynic
Listen: Myspace

Release date 20.07.2010
Relapse

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.