Gorguts, Origin, Nero di Marte, Dismemberment, Unkured

December 14, 2013 • Alrosa Villa, Columbus, Ohio

Back when I saw Locusta play in September, I thought that even though I don't really listen to much death metal at home, it's definitely a genre that I can get into when performed live. Tonight I tested my theory, and as it turns out I was totally right. Even though I was lukewarm to Gorguts' last album and I hadn't even heard of any of the other bands who played, I knew that it would still be worth it to give them a shot in concert. And it turned out to be one of the best shows I've been to yet.

Unkured

Gorguts couldn't have asked for a better opener. Although they fall at least somewhat into the "tech death" camp, these guys still managed to rock really hard. It was probably some of the old-school influences, so it was a familiar sound to a lot of people, and there is a lot of groovy rhythmic bits that really got us pumped up. Their songs were a bit disorganized and tough to follow, but it didn't really matter in that environment, I suppose. They still were very technically talented, with some really nice tapping. I knew it was going to be a good show just from watching these guys.
7 • Best Fascist Combat Boots Outfit Award

Dismemberment

Essentially, take the above band and make it old-school thrash and melodeath instead of old-school tech death. Fast, rocking stuff, really fun to listen to even though it normally wouldn't have been my thing. Really nice riffage, lots of headbangers, straightforward and metal as hell.
7 • Most Luscious Manes Award

Nero di Marte

The token "weird band" of the night. Rather than straight-up rocking stuff, these guys were slower-paced atmospheric proggy death/deathcore. Kind of like Ulcerate meets The Contortionist with loads of heavy atmosphere and very dense production. While it didn't work as well live as it probably would have in the studio, they were still pretty decent. Not as interesting to watch, of course, but they had some good songs and some good breakdowns and such to make up for it.
6 • Silliest Smoke Machine Award

Origin

The brutalest of brutal death metal. These guys were mesmerizing to watch with a really awesome stage presence and audience interaction (stories, diving). The music was a little forgettable, but the performance aspects made up for that (aside from when they'd get off time from each other, tsk tsk). Special mention to the bass guitar player who must be some sort of wizard; I've never seen anyone play the way he does, precision-attacking the frets and strings like he was trying to break it.
7 • Worst Stagediving Award. Also, Best Stagediving Award

Gorguts

They sounded basically like what I thought they would, but (as I mentioned) it was definitely much better live. They played Colored Sands in its entirety (I think) plus some older stuff as an encore. So it was a great set, and it was really cool to hear both eras of the band. I was kind of impressed how much the crowd really got into it. Also, how did I not even realize that Colin Marston was in the band? That was half of my excitement right there. Anyway, really great stuff, totally worth seeing.
8 • Best Drummer Faces Award

Gojira – L’enfant sauvage

June 26, 2012 • Roadrunner Records

It's been a while since I listened to Gojira—From Mars to Sirius, in fact—and this new album seems to be on every metal fan's radar this year. I have to say I'm not terrible enthralled by what I'm hearing so far; not bad, certainly, just par for the course.

In two albums not much has changed: Gojira still has their death metal riffing, their wide-open and spacy atmosphere, their prog flourishes, and (of course) plenty of pick scrapes. Anyone who liked what they heard on From Mars to Sirius (as I did) will easily be able to get into the mood of L'enfant sauvage; probably a good thing.

But I feel like their songwriting skills have taken a turn for the worse. There are some cool moments (the verses during the title track have a pretty neat groove going) but some tracks just totally fall flat. "The Axe" is a good example, especially coming right after the decent title track. It's a horribly generic song with very boring riffs and drumming that sound like they didn't have much effort put into them.

And unfortunately I get that feeling about a lot of the album. They've hit on a solid formula, but I can only take this endless chugging for so long when it's so monotonous (and this is coming from someone who still digs Catch Thirtythree). When there isn't a lot to differentiate the songs from each other, it's so difficult to get into the album and enjoy it.

I dunno. Maybe I'm taking it all the wrong way, and it's just supposed to be a metal album and nothing more. If you find entertainment in it, fine; if not, that's fine too. It's okay, but I won't be returning to it, especially when From Mars to Sirius seems to be all I'll need from Gojira.

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