ALBUM REVIEW: Gurt - "Skullossus"

By: Andre Almaraz

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)

The Review:

Gurt is a four piece metal band from London, UK. Their new full length album is called “Skullossus” and it is set to be released on May 1st, 2017. Gurt is a self proclaimed “party doom” band but based on this album alone (it is all I know of the band), I would have to somewhat disagree with that categorization. While it is true that everyone loves a good party and that this album gives off an air of playfulness and sleaze with its song titles, sound, and lyrics, to my ears, there seems to be only slight traces of doom to be found within this volume of their music. Instead, the sounds I hear on it are more like a mix of Black Breath, Pungent Stench, and Clutch; bands that are not very doomy but bands that most metal heads hold in high regard nonetheless. Subgenre classifications be damned - let’s get down to business…. 

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

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Pist - "Rhythm & Booze" (Album Review)

By: Heather Blewett

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 29/10/2015

Label: When Planets Collide

Their music is no joke; it’s polished, well crafted and almost hard to believe it’s a debut full length. Their direction is clear and focused, which is portrayed in their output. Great prospects lie ahead for Pist, but they’ll be too shitfaced to remember any of it of course.

‘Rhythm and Booze’ CD//DD track listing:

1). Shitstorm

2). Dirt On Me

3). Detached

4). Deadbeat

5). The Worst time of Year

6). 68

7). Trails

8). Plagues of Hope

9). Cuntlip

10). Chunder

The Review:

Since their commendable debut EP ‘Riffology’ landed last year, Mancunian beer swillers Pist have been on a roll, touring extensively across the country and playing a blinder at this year’s Bloodstock festival. Their fun loving no fucks given attitude and tasty riffs turned heads, and their debut album will certainly turn a lot more. Aptly named ‘Rhythm & Booze’, and recorded at Skyhammer Studio with esteemed producer Chris Fielding, Pist welcome us to the party with their booze fuelled stoner rock head bangers.

Churning out riff after riff, ‘Rhythm & Booze’ picks up where ‘Riffology’ left off. Bluesy, groovy riffs, alongside Dave Rowland’s gargled glass vocals, prove to be a winning combination throughout the album. “Detached” is outrageously catchy, utilizing the power of the riff to its full potential. “Deadbeat” is clearly a nod to Motorhead, particularly in terms of the vocal delivery. Interlude “The Worst Time of Year” showcases impressive and almost tranquil guitar work, but feels somewhat out of place. “68” is fast and boisterous; the compelling need to nod your head and tap your foot is irresistible.   

The Orange Goblin comparison is unavoidable yet complimentary, no surprises they will be supporting OG at their upcoming Manchester gig in December. Pist create music that translates extremely well into the live environment, unlike a lot of bands they exude a lot of personality, which comes through both on record and stage.

Pist’s sense of humor is clearly imbued in this album, from the artwork (yes that’s Taylor Swift) to track titles such as “Cuntlip”, and the never ending spew scene from Team America (“fuck yeah!”) that features at the end of “Chunder”. However, their music is no joke; it’s polished, well crafted and almost hard to believe it’s a debut full length. Their direction is clear and focused, which is portrayed in their output. Great prospects lie ahead for Pist, but they’ll be too shitfaced to remember any of it of course.

“Rhythm & Booze” is available here

Band info: Facebook|Bandcamp

V A I L S - Galactic Triceratops (EP Review)

Album Type: EP

Date Released: March 19^th 2015

Label: When Planets Collide

Galactic Triceratops - Track Listing

1. Sally's In Love

2. Megaton's Telethon

2. Galactic Triceratops

4. Heterodyne

5. Don't Poke The Bear

Members:

Owen Street - Bass/Vox,

Mathew Ham - Drums

Bio:

Dumping any preconceived notion of what a contemporary two-piece should sound like firmly on its over-coiffured nut, South Wales’ V A I L S deal in a strain of uber-aggro melodic sludge, notable for both its punk aesthetic and consummate musicianship. Operating in the Venn diagram set where early Killing Joke intersects with The Melvins and Torche, ‘a one-two beast of balls-heavy animosity’ was the received wisdom of Sludgelord, and it’s hard to disagree.

Bassist Owen Street and drummer Mathew Ham turned a few eyes and ears on last year’s demo, seamlessly locking in like distant twins on the propulsive Fuckpuncher and riff-strong Snake Falls Show All. Now, with a few incandescent live shows under the belt, they launch their first EP proper – Galactic Triceratops on When Planets Collide on 30th March. Recorded by Joe Garcia (OM, Temples Festival) and mastered by Nick Zampiello (Converge, Isis), the band has channeled their sound, their groove and their drive into a quite remarkable proposition.

Review:

V A I L S are a Punk/Noise/Sludge/Stoner Duo have just released their superb debut EP - Galactic Triceratops - which is released by When Planets Collide. For a duo V A I L S are extremely loud. If you're a fan of Big Business, Torche and High On Fire then these guys are the band for you though V A I L S offer a more direct punk based attitude.

Opening track - Sally's In Love - is a fast-paced offering with the band playing noisy and in your face style Punk based Sludge/Stoner Rock to hold your interest. The song could be classed as a romantic love song though only if your partner is a fan of Noise Rock with a dash of Sludge/Stoner Metal to get them fully into the romantic mood. The vocals remind me of Big Business though that's no bad thing as they do the job superbly well.

Second track - Megatron's Telethon is a brilliantly clever and exciting track that shows how creative V A I L S actually are. As the band offer fast-paced and high energy volatile Stoner Rock carnage with enough power to give Optimus Prime an intergalactic headache never mind inspiring Megatron into starting a telethon. As you can tell, V A I L S have a passion for all things Science Fiction as they explore some crazy and wild ideas that gives their debut EP a very addictive quality. The EP is a very bass heavy affair as there isn’t a lead or rhythm guitar I sight. As V A I L S band members only play Bass Guitar and Drums respectively.

Third track - Galactic Triceratops – is a more direct Sludge/Punk Rock song that maybe too jarring for some to experience. The rest of us will enjoy the hard-riffing delights that V A I L S have created here. If Big Business ever did the soundtrack for a Transformers movie then this is the twisted result. Fourth track - Heterodyne - is perhaps the loudest song on the EP. It's a very messy and noisy affair and I mean that as a compliment. As the band mix ambient noises with bass heavy riffs that shouldn't really work but the band pull this off with style and ease.

The final song and possibly the EP's standout track - Don't Poke The Bear – is another heavy rock and roll affair that sees V A I L S throw everything in the air for one crazy ride. It can become very trippy at times as it has moments of dark twisted Psych Rock vibes. The drumming is superb through out as it becomes the main focus of the song. V A I L S offer a drone/ambient experience for the last 90 seconds or so. It brings the EP to a rousing and exciting finish. 

V A I L S have managed to create an excellent debut release and one that will see them go far within the UK Sludge/Stoner Rock scene. V A I L S are one of the more exciting duos I've came across recently. Hopefully V A I L S can build upon this EP and offer a full length record to match the crazy and superb ideas that Galactic Triceratops holds. 

Do yourself a favour and check this out now. You owe it to yourself. It's available to buy now on BandCamp Buy Now and CD via When Planets Collide.

Words by Steve Howe

For More Information

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