Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 01/05/2017
Label: When Planets Collide
This is some quality music that draws
from many influences and I feel any metal fan should be able to enjoy it….
possibly even as the soundtrack to their next doom party.
“Skullossus”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Welcome to the Shit Show
2. Gimme the Night, any Day
3. Battlepants
4. Double Barreled Shot-pun
5. The Crotch Wobbler
6. Existance is Pain
7. Broken Heart Heroin Man
8. Meowing at the Fridge
9. John Gar See Ya Later
10. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne (Part 1)
11. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne (Part 2)
2. Gimme the Night, any Day
3. Battlepants
4. Double Barreled Shot-pun
5. The Crotch Wobbler
6. Existance is Pain
7. Broken Heart Heroin Man
8. Meowing at the Fridge
9. John Gar See Ya Later
10. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne (Part 1)
11. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne (Part 2)
The Review:
Gurt is a four piece metal band from
The
album opens with a short intro track called “Welcome to the Shit Show,” which consists of a cryptic spoken word
message that warns of the end of the human race as we know it over what seems
to be some type of warping carnival organ notes setting the stage for what is
to follow. Shortly thereafter, the recording kicks off the embarkment with a
boot stomper called “Gimme the Night,
any Day.” This tune initiates their heavy buzzsaw sound and begins with a
sludgy pounding groove before a middle section breakdown gives way to a storm
of phasers that eventually leads us to a flurry of tortured screams and grim
chords which sound like they could have been pulled right from a classic
Swedish death metal album. This is a great, no nonsense opener to get the album
rolling off to a good start.
Third
track, “Battlepants,” is a rock
solid death march loaded with nothing but slam, stomp, and pound, that will
pulverize your speakers in a militarized procession for the entire duration of
the song. Some eerie and haunting background vocals in the post-chorus part are
a very nice touch and give the song that little extra something to show us that
Gurt
is not just another one-dimensional, ugly face. Fourth song, “Double Barreled Shot-pun,” is another
stone-faced groover of classic rock and roll revolutionary riffs. This one,
however, has a bit more of a bouncy 80s crossover feel. Being a child of the
80s myself, the song quickly got my blood pumping and my feet tapping with its
permeating rhythm. The fifth track, “The
Crotch Wobbler,” has a sexy and seductive saunter to it. It is chock full
of big stoner rock riffs and I can definitely hear this one being played at
numerous strip clubs in the Southern and Midwestern United States as some
freckled farmer’s daughter butters your corn cob amidst a back drop of soiled
Confederate flags.
Sixth
track, “Existence is Pain,” is a
playful little instrumental number, almost Primus-like in its funk and silliness. It also
comes complete with a cameo appearance by none other than MTV stars, Beavis and
Butt-Head to end the song. The track may seem a bit out of place, stuck in the
middle of all these heavy ragers but fuck it - this is art and the artist is
free to express themselves any way they choose. I salute the band for flying
their freak flag high and letting everyone know that they don’t take themselves
too seriously. Honestly, to me it’s a breath of fresh air in today’s modern
metal climate, especially for a band this heavy. Rolling right along to the
seventh track; “Broken Heart Heroin Man,”
is a raging, straightforward punk blast that will blow your hat off as it stays
in high gear energy for the entire eighty-three seconds of its duration. “Meowing at the Fridge” is a thick and
chunky, slow to mid-tempo chugger. The vocalist really gets guttural on this
one as he croaks, bellows, and screams his way through almost the entire four
minutes of the song. “John Gar See
Ya Later” is another straightforward riff rocker with an extremely catchy
chorus which I found myself inadvertently humming after the first listen. Its
dominating chorus coupled with a funky and psychedelic middle section featuring
some tasteful soloing by both guitar and saxophone making this one a unique and
interesting stand out track of the album for me. Tenth track, “The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne
(Pt. 1),” is where we finally get the doom side out of Gurt; death-doom to be more
exact. The song is suffocatingly heavy with moroseness, and serves as another
nod to classic Swedish death metal.
The
closing track, “The Balled of Tom Stones
and Reg Montagne (Pt. 2),” consists of little more than some faint gypsy
music set to a background of howling winds and is an interesting way to bring
the album to a close. It is the final brick in the shit house and brings to
light yet another side of the band’s many faces. Although the heart and soul of
“Skullossus” proves to be
straightforward, lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek, rocking songs, the band also
has many other distinctive sounds and quite a bit of depth when they feel like
showing it off to us. Many fragmented bits and pieces of death metal, doom,
punk, sludge, thrash, stoner, and funk also make their way into the album’s
well rounded repertoire. I really enjoyed “Skullossus”
and although many others may already be familiar with Gurt as they’ve apparently been
touring and releasing material for the past seven years, I was not previously
familiar with the band and I’m glad I was given the chance to review their
newest offering and become enlightened. This is some quality music that draws
from many influences and I feel any metal fan should be able to enjoy it….
possibly even as the soundtrack to their next doom party.
“Skullossus” is available here
