Gorod

A Perfect Absolution

Written by: MST on 12/04/2012 21:23:53

It's fascinating how huge the metal genre has become. Nowadays, even subgenres of subgenres have their own subgenres. Gorod from France play what I would call semi-melodic technical death metal with modern influences relating to metalcore. "A Perfect Absolution" is the fourth album from this 5-piece since its 1997 inception. Since 2008's "Process Of A New Decline" the band has had to acquire a new guitarist and a new vocalist. That vocalist, Julien "Nutz" Deyres, was acquired from drummer Sam Santiago's previous band Zubrowska, a deathcore band. No wonder there are modern influences on this album.

Although Gorod do play a sort of technical death metal, it's hard for me to call it that since the last album in the genre I reviewed was Spawn of Possession's "Incurso", a thunderstorm of technicality. Gorod settle for compositions of a less technical nature and some solo-like riffs once in a while courtesy of Mathieu "Mat" Pascal and the new guitarist Nicolas Alberny. The vocals used to be growls, but the new vocalist sports those characteristic metalcore/hardcore shouts and some occasional weak growls. No, I'm not impressed either. But Gorod still manage to inject some originality to parts of the album: some of the songs are ridiculously funky. The mood suddenly changes from whatever was going on before to something that anyone should be able to dance to like a crazy person. Enter "Varangian Paradise", a song that turns into a groovy flamenco song halfway in (I know, right?), with amazing Spanish-sounding grooves and drumming with a side dish of cowbell and some spoken vocals.

Sadly, the rest of the album comes off as being a little too usual and anonymous. "Tribute Of Blood" should keep a guitar wankery aficionado happy if he/she is able to look past the hardcore vocals, and the all too regular mid-tempo instrumentation between the guitar sections. But there's another setback: the band suddenly break into melodeath/metalcore melancholy characterised by slow melodic guitars weeping along to whiny vocals. The album was already too melodic for my tastes, but that didn't help.

"A Perfect Absolution" is not a bad album, not at all, but as a technical death metal album it falls short of delivering what I associate with the genre. Instead, it comes off as a modern death metal album with melodic and technical influences. If that's your thing, Gorod may just be the band for you.

7

Download: Birds of Sulphur, Varangian Paradise, Tribute Of Blood
For The Fans Of: Decrepit Birth, Gory Blister, Quo Vadis
Listen: Youtube

Release date 12.03.2012
Listenable Records

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