Gaffed lives again.
After a few years under the name Blasphamy and then Ritual Torment, the American band released a demo in 1994, then another in 1995, and finally disappeared from the Death Metal scene radar.
In 2021, Rich Calderone (guitar), Mike Luft (guitar/vocals), Bob Luft (vocals) and Joe Davidson (bass) called on Senen Solis (drums, Beyond the Flesh, ex-The Grieving Process) to breathe new life into the band, who finally released Die Already, their debut album, on CDN Records.
Although released in May 2023, the album can count on all the elements of the ’90s: an ominous introduction sample on Shrine of Dismemberment, followed by massive instrumental and impressive howls crush us. Whether the snare drum sound may seem a little too « clean » for purists, the band’s mastery of thick riffs and murderous vocal parts combined with sharp cymbal work, lead to Human Prey and its devastating saturation, which gives raw catchy groove and, above all, pachydermic moshparts full flavor, which will be first to break necks, before Malevolent Butchery offer us a fearsomely effective Old School rhythm section, letting the sound slowly arrive. It doesn’t take long for the band to pick up the pace and let us in on the sheer violence, churning out jerky patterns under vindictive, rhythmic screams, followed by Die Already, the eponymous track, which simply mercilessly stomps us from the very first second. The little downtime the band allows us is used for virulent acceleration, as on Decimate, which also features some dissonant screaming harmonics. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the track is made of uninterrupted violence and heavy strikes strengthened by a snarling bass, then an unexpected solo leads us into Plagued With Misery, which will easily remind us of the purely American influences the band uses to give its thick riffs some groove. We also have a few sharp leads in this simple catchy mix, then Perverse Exhumation closes this first block of aural grease with another blast of these wild explosive riffs, coupled with vocal parts which leave us no respite.
Gaffed are one of those bands who remain anchored in their aggressive, stirring Old School foundations, offering powerful and relatively effective riffs. Die Already will make you nod while relentlessly bludgeoning you.
80/100