The fire is burning brighter than ever at Gorod.
For their new album The Ember Gone, the Bordeaux-based band led by Benoit Claus (bass, Nader Sadek, ex-The Great Old Ones), Mathieu Pascal (guitar), Nicolas Alberny (guitar, ex-Antropofago, ex-Arcania), Julien “Nutz” Deyres (vocals, Grist, Ahasver, ex-Zubrowska), and Karol Diers (drums) continues to collaborate with Base Productions and Klonosphere.
Right from opening track Signs, the band confirms that the very distinct Prog influences developed on their previous album are back, but Nutz’s vocals, initially quite unsettling, remain as powerful as ever, adapting effortlessly to the dissonant and ethereal touch of the rhythm section. Keyboards add an interesting, luminous touch, but the band eventually shifts its focus to its leads as it moves into Devise, the next track, which features a fairly stark contrast between technical precision and certain rawer elements such as the screamed backing vocals as well as the clear vocals, which are once again surprising. The track quickly gives way to the melancholy of Forgiveness, a longer composition that takes its time to develop its dark yet ethereal atmosphere before intensifying and continuing to build complexity until it becomes oppressive, then finally returning to Death Metal. The shifting styles are in full swing, and the mix is satisfying, just like on Regret, which starts off gently but quickly infuses its rhythm with unsettling touches and, finally, the vocalist’s massive roars, as he doesn’t hesitate to switch between his various techniques. The final is almost joyful given the jagged roots that come through, and Crimson doesn’t make things any easier by pulling us back into the darkness for a few moments, then returning to its convoluted and polished approach to make this instrumental track a true masterclass in musicianship. Vocals return on Ignite, a track that retains the band’s creative madness while pushing it further with violent vocal parts, and only the purely instrumental moments remain somewhat soothing but aside from the break, they are short-lived and quickly give way to rage as we move into Ember, which serves as an interlude. Once again, the absence of vocals allows us to catch our breath for a few moments while enjoying the musicians’ tranquility, then Remains delivers the final blow by certainly returning to violence, but once again without forgetting its organized harmonics which will delight musicians and make the whole thing a bit more palatable at times than the massive blow we were used to in the past. I recommend staying tuned until the very end to fully appreciate the anxiety-inducing keyboard work.
Gorod confirms its shift toward a much more Progressive approach, one that began with their previous album, and solidifies its new identity. While The Ember Gone features some excellent passages that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of technical music, I, for one, am less convinced.
70/100
