GOROD

The music is complex and challenging progressive death metal. Lots of tempo and time signature changes throughout the album. There´s a significant neo-classical element in the music too. The music is very brutal and the deep growling vocals suit the music well even though I could have wished for a more varied vocal style ( a bit too monotone after a while). While the music certainly is crushingly heavy and brutal there are lots of melodic guitar runs and the music actually comes off rather sophisticated at times. This is without a doubt Gorod´s most melodic and accessible album to date. Do expect tech metal madness though this is not an easy listen.

An album like Planetary Duality (2008) by The Faceless is an obvious reference IMO and fans of The Faceless should definitely take a listen to Process of a New Decline. Process of a New Decline isn´t as accomplished as Planetary Duality though ( and generally a bit slower paced), but I think it´s more a question of personal taste on my behalf than it´s a question of quality because the quality level is extremely high on Process of a New Decline. The songwriting, the musicianship and the production are all excellent and Process of a New Decline fully deserves a 4 star rating.

The music on Leading Vision continues the style that was introduced on Neurotripsicks but adds a more simple approach to the music which means that this album is a bit more direct and brutal than Neurotripsicks ( This also means that it is a bit more memorable IMO). The many melodic guitar runs on Neurotripsicks are fewer on Leading Vision. There are some great guitar solos on Leading Vision. Some are semi-jazzy. Gorod´s overall sound has taken a notch up in the brutality department ( best examplified by the opening song Here Die Your Gods) and the music can be compared to bands like Suffocation and Aborted but with an additional complex approach. This is first and foremost a death metal album though. Very powerful. The technical playing is a means to an end and not the focal point in Gorod´s music on Leading Vision.

The growling vocals from Guillaume needs to be mentioned here as he is a great vocalist. No semi-growling powerless vocals here say thank you. Guillaume´s vocals are ultra brutal and powerful. He really gives his all. The technical level of all the musicians are way above average and it´s a real joy for me to listen to musicians this accomplished.

The production is excellent. Note how clear you can hear the bass in the mix ( The bass is sadly missing focus on many metal productions IMO) yet the overall sound is still sharp and edgy.

If you enjoy bands like Cryptopsy, Decapitated, Necrophagist, Martyr and Death, Gorod is sure to please your taste. Technical death metal that emphasises power and brutality before complex playing fits my taste very well and I think Leading Vision is highly recommendable to fans of the genre. The album fully deserves 4 stars.

The music is complex and technical death metal. Brutal yet sophisticated and with lots of great technical guitar licks. The vocals are ultra brutal and there is in addition to the deep sub woofer vocals a couple of piggy grunts which seems to be very porpular among extreme metal bands these days. The vocals are processed which is something I´m not very fond of normally but in this case it´s allright even though I would have prefered a more understandable vocal ( yet still brutal).

The songs are very complex in structure and there are many riffs in each song, but after listening to the album many times it all falls into place and the songs become memorable. My favorite is probably Smoked Skulls. Most of the music is mid to fast paced with the occasional Suffocation like blast beat, but the pace is generally not in blast beat tempo. A song like Earth Pus is pretty fast paced though. Neuronal Disorder State is a bit different from the rest as it has an industrial edge to it.

The musicianship is excellent. Tight interplay and technically accomplished musicians.

The production is good and everything is right in the mix. The drums have a more modern sound than I normally like but they sound pretty good here.

This album places Gorod firmly among the elite of tech death metal bands that have appeared in the last ten years. Bands like Cryptopsy, Decapitated, Necrophagist, Psycroptic and Martyr. Gorod succeeds in making very complex music yet still maintaining the brutal ( simple) accessibility which is so important in death metal. This is a well deserved 4 star album. I can´t wait to hear their next one.