GERYON

Earth-shattering bass, lightening speed double-pedal work, thrashy beats, bellowing growls causing gale-forced winds from the speakers, and perhaps a little bloodletting from the ear-drums. That's what we can expect from this intense, Avante Death Metal duo GERYON - basically the rhythm section from Progressive Black Metal band KRALLICE, comprising of Nick McMaster (bass/growls) and Lev Weinstein (drums). I happened upon this 12" whilst hoping to obtain the 2LP Diotima album of Krallice, therefore taking a chance, which happened to have paid off. And I'm still looking for Diotima, but I digress. This mini-album of a mere 4 tracks (3 longer and 1 short piece) first appeared in late-2013 whilst main project Krallice was 'on hold' with all members engaging themselves in various other musical endeavours, most notably Colin Marston, having teamed-up with Luc Lemay for another crack at Luc's GORGUTS vision, and a fine offering with Colored Sands following up the seminal classic 'Obscura' with respect.

Back to Geryon. This dynamic duo work so well together here, almost like a battle to out-tech each other, which, in essence, creating a driving force for the compositions on offer. McMaster shows confidence and command of his 6-String bass, churning out distorted arpeggios, bizarre dischords of an other-worldly eerieness, sinister tritones, along with some low, really low bottom end notes just to ensure a complete sonic spectrum is achieved where the listener doesn't even notice the abscence of a lead-guitar, and with just the right amount of 'mud' to the production, to capture a convincing set. Meanwhile, Lev seems to be running a life or death marathon on his kit. I'm sure he'll survive. Each track is broken up by a brief, electronic sound-collage, adding texture and much needed relief throughout the near- 27 minute 'adventure into the strange abyss' that is Geryon music. Structurally complex, melodically baffling, lots of stop/starts, the passion behind McMaster's colossal growling (I can't understand a word he says, and with no lyrics included, it's futile), is enough to make the Dark Lord itself cower into a corner, like a fraidy cat. No. Make that kitten. If there's a downside to what these guys are doing within their limiting, minimalistic arrangement, it's that the songs sound a bit 'samey' and maybe a little draining, but this is a minor quibble at its short running time. Hopefully their next full-length offers more variety. One observation worthy of note is that in a live setting, the duo pull these songs off verbatim, as evidenced by various footage that can be found around the net. Being quite a newbie to this whole Extreme Metal sub-genre, I have little to compare this music to, so, for me, it sounds exciting and quite fresh, I simply love the bold experimentalism and musical technicality, which I'm finding in spades here. And the heaviness. 4 stars.