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Here is a review from metalzone taking 80%
Athenians and experienced in the Greek extreme metal scene, Gospel of Grief release in 2010, after many musical and line-up changes having occurred, their first (complete) album, entitled “Our Symbol Is Death”. Their influences are actually two and key ones : the Nordic (mainly Norwegian) black metal scene of the early ’90s, and the very scene that bred them, the Greek one. Their debut album is approximately 49’ long, featuring 10 compositions (intro included). Two are the axis rendering this release special: first off, the openness they present regarding the songwriting progress; although they, themselves, note that their greatest influences are bands as Darkthrone, Mayhem etc., they (thankfully) cling not to a black metal “ghetto” . Being progressive themselves, they are much more melodic than their north European mentors. This is due to the musical fermentation they’ ve developed with the domestic scene (see Rotting Christ). Simultaneously, the production and sound of the album are way cleaner; this, in no case makes them less “extreme”. The second axis is the following simple, yet truly important: the “Our Symbol is Death” has no fillers! The compositions do not show any grain of casualness ( in terms both of inspiration and instrumentation/ performance).
It is obvious that GoG are trying to define the “golden section” (be it conscious or not) between high – speed and mid - tempo rhythmic structures. The homonymous song is a characteristic one : both the intro and the chorus (0:39 - 1:13 - If it this section can be called “chorus”) feature slower/ tepid tempo, and fast/ intense playing (e.g. 1:27). However, the essential is that these variations take place periodically, consistently and throughout the whole song; this applies for all song, hence for the whole album. Within these balance GoG master their musical puppets. It has been already noted that they are pretty melodic compared to other bands of the genre. Illustrative examples are given : Graveyard, Scarlet Centuries (almost in their entirety), Stories of Doom (3:04 and on) argue in favor of this.
Technically, the band is at a level where no obstacles cannot be overcome. In other words, they can compose/perform whatever crosses their mind ( in the genre’s limits of course ). The guitars (Kaun, A.Z.) are relatively heavy, plus clean. Overall, it feels like a riff – production machine is behind the curtain. At the same time, the guitar solos/ leads, whenever these may occur, they do not spare time for show offs or meaningless impressions; melody, for once more, comes to shoulder the burden. Regarding the vocals, “108”, certainly is a convincing performer, trespassing the minimum emotional accent required. Rotting Christ’s leverage on his performing is obvious, the least. Scarlet Centuries’ section from1 : 13 – 2 : 21 is literally confusing, and it is not just about the vocals. It is noted that the multiple vocal lines on the ”Our Symbol Is Death” song have been taken over by Naer Mataron’s “Kaiadas” ( whose performance is exceptional). “Torm”, GoG’s bassist, is of lower profile. The bass lines are distinguishable nevertheless, however it feels like it just passively supplements the main sound, “subjugated” to the guitars (at least, this applies to most cases). The album’s drumming has not been recorded by GoG’ s drummer, A.C., but by “438”, who frequently strays from “holy blast beats “ (a rhythmic pattern pretty darkish by definition), finding shelter to cleverer rhythm structures. However, there happens to be a major drawback, considering the drumming. The fills are almost identical, both within a very composition ( which is fair), but also from song to song (which is, of course, not legitimate).
The only actual blemish on the album has to do with the lyrics’ dimension. It is emphasized that only two songs’ lyrics reached my hands (Black Origins of the Universe, The Final End), so there is a high possibility that the sample may not be representative of the whole. Judging from these two though, the metrics are technically bad (actually they are devoid of any technique), and this void, is definitely not filled by the trite theme -the concept essentially speaks of an era whose advent is yet to come- (the theme can rather be viewed as a Nordic inheritance). In addition, logical faults can be detected : e.g. “the new man is “re”-born “again”. How many times will this dude actually be born? Of course, all these are far from distorting the whole picture.
Collectively, Gospel of Grief has set one foot stalking the mighty Scandinavian coldness, while the other conquers modern Greece, having achieved a fresh, vivid sound. Simultaneously, the non – adoption of any sectarian view of the black metal community or any akin stereotypical
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28-07-10, 18:40
Gospel Of Grief -Our Symbol Is Death..Debut Album
