Album Type:
Album
Date Released:
19th
December 2014
Label:
Per
Koro Records and Meta Matter Records
Cruel
Surprises (Split LP) – Track Listing
01 - Golden Gorilla
- No Sleep
02 - Golden Gorilla
- Paranoia Run
03 - Golden Gorilla
- Teeth In The Pocket
04 - Golden Gorilla
- Endlosrille
05 - Ghost Of Wem -
(Cut The Head Off) Leave Th...
06 - Ghost Of Wem -
Control Entity
Golden Gorilla
Members
Tomasz Stompor -
screams
Steffen Hinkel -
guitar
Lars Ortlepp -
guitar, backing growls
Thorsten Schüler -
drums
Jürgen Schüler –
bass
Ghost Of Wem
Members
S.
Guitar
D. Vocals
J. Guitar
J. Drums
S. Bass
D. Vocals
J. Guitar
J. Drums
S. Bass
Review:
So
what do we have here? A heavy and brutal split record from two fine
bands from Germany. In one corner we have - Golden Gorilla, and the
next, we have Ghost Of Wem. Both bands offering heavy slabs of Sludge
Metal to awaken your senses to. From what I can recall, Golden
Gorilla split back in 2010 but reformed recently. Ghost Of Wem has been on this blog before with
their intense onslaught of Blackened Sludge Metal. When my good
friend Timon (from Sludge Worm Magazine) asked me - Did I want to review the
new split record between these two awesome bands?
Of
course, I jumped at the chance to review it. A few days later, a copy
of their latest split release - Cruel Surprises - was handed to me.
So let us get started. Golden Gorilla offer 4 tracks while Ghost Of
Wem offers 2 tracks. 36 minutes of heavy bombastic Sludge/Blackened
Sludge/Hardcore fury to rattle your bones to. Up first is Golden
Gorilla with their heavy style of Sludge, Doom and Hardcore.
Influenced by EyeHateGod and Iron Monkey amongst others, it does not take
long for Golden Gorilla with their first offering - No Sleep. A
punishing and bruising encounter with the music is low, mean and
heavy with bleak vocals to match. It is a disturbing song with spikes
of killer sludge riffs, which packs quite a punch. Though it may take
a few listens to understand what the vocals are actually singing
about, as they are more of the death-based growl variety. Still a ton
of great riffs for you to check out with Golden Gorilla providing a
spectacle of loud noise through out their side of the split release.
Golden
Gorilla's contribution may only last 17 minutes or so but it is a
thrilling encounter, which will leave you shaken to the core. The
other two tracks - Paranoia Run and Teeth In The Pocket - carries on
the volatile atmosphere with hints of NOLA style riffage being added
to give this Split Release an even hard-rocking vibe. Golden Gorilla
don't hold back in letting you know how angry they are with the
world. For the short time that they are here, they don't waste a
single second. Though the last track - Endlosrille - is a more
playful and humorous song that only lasts 1:41 mins. To be fair the
band could have left this track out, as it doesn't quite match the
excellent 3 tracks they have provided here. Other than that, Golden
Gorilla should be applauded for unleashing an action-packed and
disturbing encounter of intense riffs.
So
time for Round 2 and Ghost Of Wem to show the world what they can do.
Ghost Of Wem offer two tracks both running for around 10 minutes
each. So if you're a fan of slow-paced down-tempo blackened sludge
metal then you will be in your element here. Ghost of Wem's first
song - (Cut The Head Off) Leave - is a slow-paced affair with menacing
disturbing blackened sludge riffs portraying a nightmarish world with
brutal vocals to match. It's a very hard sound to like as Ghost of
Wem take no prisoners. This is uncompromising as it gets, where
noises are added to provide a more creepy effect. When the band start
playing long drawn out riffs with guitar feedback lurking in the
background, this turns into a full on exercise of misery where there
is no escape from. I should point out that Ghost Of Wem features
members from Black Shape Of Nexus so that should tell you about the
quality of this band and how bleak the mood will actually become.
Though the later stages of the song features highly impressive fast
paced riffs that wouldn't go a miss from a post-black metal band.
Ghost
Of Wem's 2nd and final track is Control Entity. A 10:40 minute opus
that blends Drone, Doom, Sludge and Black Metal for a more
experimental feel compared to the previous track. It starts rather
slowly before the band add harsh vocals and faster paced riffs for an
unsettling and loud experience. The drumming is fantastic as you can
feel the drums being put through their paces. The vocals are more of
the death/grind variety, which once again may take multiple listens
to fully understand the lyrical content. Don't let that put you off
as Ghost Of Wem keep you entertained through out especially if you're
a fan of bleak and desolate sludge/black metal. It's probably the
heaviest and loudest track on the split release and it ends the
record on a bleak depressing note. Overall, this is an excellent
split-record from two great bands. It may not offer anything
groundbreaking but it's a great record to use to discover two
excellent bands.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Timon from Mountain Range PR for the promo. Cruel Surprises will
be available to buy on DD/Vinyl from Per Koro Records and Meta Matter
Records from December 19th 2014
For
More Information
Golden
Gorilla
Ghost
Of Wem
