Gorgantherron
Normally, when I’m reviewing a band I’ll write my own introduction to things, but when Gorgantherron got in touch about their EP and I saw their bio on their FB page, I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce them. So – according to their Facebook page:
‘In 1968, a top secret military mission launched three chimpanzees into space. The goal was to test a new vessel designed for deep space exploration. Mookie, Yim-Yim & Steve were to be the first Earth creatures to travel to the end of the known galaxy and beyond. Few expected the animals to survive, but the data collected during the voyage would be invaluable for future expeditions. On August 25, 1968 their ship launched. Sold to the media as the launch of a weather satellite, it went unnoticed. For the next four years the vessel sent flight data and vital signs of the passengers, studied by only a few scientists with the highest security clearance. On January 19, 1972 the last communication was received. The ship had reached the edge of the galaxy and the passengers were still alive. Abruptly, all communications ended. Nevertheless, the scientists used the accumulated data to develop systems that would end up in the Space Shuttle, but the mission itself was forgotten.
Then in early 2010, radio telescopes picked up an unknown object traveling at remarkable speeds. Scientists tracked it until it fell to Earth, landing in rural Indiana. The military responded and were shocked to find wreckage of the ship that had launched in 1968, still blasting an endless loop of Black Sabbath's “Master of Reality” and the first two Iron Maiden albums. However, the ship was found to be empty with no sign of the three chimps. The occurrence was swept under the rug, and scientists were left scratching their heads.
Months later three men appeared claiming to be the very same chimps from the mission. They told of traveling to the Andromeda galaxy and being captured by a race of beings far more advanced than humans...the mighty Gorgantherron. They had been monitoring human progress for centuries and were appalled at humankind's behavior toward each other and their planet. The Gorgantherron used their superior technology to evolve the chimps into stunningly handsome men. They spent years listening to Doom and Black metal. The Gorgantherron considered metal to be one of the few things the miserable humans had gotten right. The three were educated in guitar, bass, and drums, then hurled back to their home planet to warn humankind of the dire consequences of continuing their petty, selfish ways.’
So there – now, they sent me a link to their EP – so I figured that once I stopped laughing and emailing links out to various people, I’d better check out what was going on on their self titled EP!
Opening with Mothra things get off to an intricate and upbeat start, forming into the sort out sound you’d expect from a metal unit who are focused on letting the world know the errors of their ways. Whether I’d class this as doom I’m not sure, but what it is though is good, funky, powerful and distorted metal. Despite the distorted nature of things there’s also a serene level of melody running through the track, allowing the listener the opportunity to really embrace the track, feel a part of it and take on board what’s going on – in short, it’s a solid opening to the EP and promises good things to follow. Moving on to Lost In Space the theme continues, once again hammering into a melee of thundering drum lines, powerful riffs from the guitars and a rumbling bassline which keeps things moving. The melody of the track is once again kept at the forefront of the mix, allowing you to fully see what’s going on, how it’s all put together and what the band are capable of. Once again I’m not sure about the doom tag cited on their FB page as there’s more of a classic metal vibe to things, the sort of thing which elevates a track to legendary status before it’s even been around long enough – definitely worth a look in if you get a chance. I love the technical elements of this track, there’s just something about them that adds to the track, turning what could be a straight forward track into something more complex, more powerful, and altogether more well formed.
Assimilate continues the progression of the record, this time slowing things down to a simple guitar line to open proceedings and showing the bands understanding of their mix. Slower, more restrained and even more melodic than the previous tracks, the slower approach contrasts against the early heavy moments of the track and shows that you don’t need to use power all the time to keep your message moving. Moving away from the slow and soft approach as the track continues to grow, the closest comparison I can draw here is to the likes of early Black Sabbath, there’s that slow, dark and hard hitting sound to this track, the sort of thing which accompanies a heavy rain storm, thunder and lightning, and the general sense of darkness that only doom inspired rock and metal can induce. This track was my personal favourite from the record, and definitely a track I would recommend you check out! Switching style once again for the opening moments of Cemetery Shoes, we’re once gain returned to the funky and upbeat tone which started this record off with such aplomb. Faster and more in your face, this is a track which is going to get people moving, chanting along with the band and embracing their music. More doom inspired this time around, the darkness simply oozes out of the track as the gravelly and powerful vocals echo out across the mix, all working together to form a mix which is accessible, dark and powerful. This is another high point on the EP, and another track which I would highly recommend you check out.
Title track Gorgantherron comes up next, opening with a sense of rumbling darkness (having recently watched Jurassic Park with my son all I could think of here was the T-Rex scene) before launching into a dark and distorted mix of down tuned guitar work, slow and pounding drums and rumbling bass moments. Once again airing more on the dark side of the spectrum, this track once again stands out as one to check out, the sort of track which defines the band, the sort of thing which is going to get them recognised, and the sort of track which crowds will beg for on the live scene. It’s only left then to Andromeda to close the EP, finishing on another dark and funky note and leaving no doubt about the style of the band. The closing moments of the EP are once again more restrained at times than some of the other tracks, yet still manage to pack a punch, show off the elements which make up the band, and leave you with a serious taste for the band. This track came a close second for me as regards my personal favourites, there’s just a real edge to the track which makes it stand out and become one to come back to time and time again.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Gorgantherron when I read up their bio on their page, but to be honest, their music takes that sense of humour, throws it out the window and results in something very serious and very well accomplished indeed. Powerful at times, restrained at others, but always keeping a sense of the band you’re hearing and where their music is going, this is an EP which people should hear, should look out for, and will no doubt enjoy when they’ve heard it.
To find out more about Gorgantherron, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.
‘In 1968, a top secret military mission launched three chimpanzees into space. The goal was to test a new vessel designed for deep space exploration. Mookie, Yim-Yim & Steve were to be the first Earth creatures to travel to the end of the known galaxy and beyond. Few expected the animals to survive, but the data collected during the voyage would be invaluable for future expeditions. On August 25, 1968 their ship launched. Sold to the media as the launch of a weather satellite, it went unnoticed. For the next four years the vessel sent flight data and vital signs of the passengers, studied by only a few scientists with the highest security clearance. On January 19, 1972 the last communication was received. The ship had reached the edge of the galaxy and the passengers were still alive. Abruptly, all communications ended. Nevertheless, the scientists used the accumulated data to develop systems that would end up in the Space Shuttle, but the mission itself was forgotten.
Then in early 2010, radio telescopes picked up an unknown object traveling at remarkable speeds. Scientists tracked it until it fell to Earth, landing in rural Indiana. The military responded and were shocked to find wreckage of the ship that had launched in 1968, still blasting an endless loop of Black Sabbath's “Master of Reality” and the first two Iron Maiden albums. However, the ship was found to be empty with no sign of the three chimps. The occurrence was swept under the rug, and scientists were left scratching their heads.
Months later three men appeared claiming to be the very same chimps from the mission. They told of traveling to the Andromeda galaxy and being captured by a race of beings far more advanced than humans...the mighty Gorgantherron. They had been monitoring human progress for centuries and were appalled at humankind's behavior toward each other and their planet. The Gorgantherron used their superior technology to evolve the chimps into stunningly handsome men. They spent years listening to Doom and Black metal. The Gorgantherron considered metal to be one of the few things the miserable humans had gotten right. The three were educated in guitar, bass, and drums, then hurled back to their home planet to warn humankind of the dire consequences of continuing their petty, selfish ways.’
So there – now, they sent me a link to their EP – so I figured that once I stopped laughing and emailing links out to various people, I’d better check out what was going on on their self titled EP!
Opening with Mothra things get off to an intricate and upbeat start, forming into the sort out sound you’d expect from a metal unit who are focused on letting the world know the errors of their ways. Whether I’d class this as doom I’m not sure, but what it is though is good, funky, powerful and distorted metal. Despite the distorted nature of things there’s also a serene level of melody running through the track, allowing the listener the opportunity to really embrace the track, feel a part of it and take on board what’s going on – in short, it’s a solid opening to the EP and promises good things to follow. Moving on to Lost In Space the theme continues, once again hammering into a melee of thundering drum lines, powerful riffs from the guitars and a rumbling bassline which keeps things moving. The melody of the track is once again kept at the forefront of the mix, allowing you to fully see what’s going on, how it’s all put together and what the band are capable of. Once again I’m not sure about the doom tag cited on their FB page as there’s more of a classic metal vibe to things, the sort of thing which elevates a track to legendary status before it’s even been around long enough – definitely worth a look in if you get a chance. I love the technical elements of this track, there’s just something about them that adds to the track, turning what could be a straight forward track into something more complex, more powerful, and altogether more well formed.
Assimilate continues the progression of the record, this time slowing things down to a simple guitar line to open proceedings and showing the bands understanding of their mix. Slower, more restrained and even more melodic than the previous tracks, the slower approach contrasts against the early heavy moments of the track and shows that you don’t need to use power all the time to keep your message moving. Moving away from the slow and soft approach as the track continues to grow, the closest comparison I can draw here is to the likes of early Black Sabbath, there’s that slow, dark and hard hitting sound to this track, the sort of thing which accompanies a heavy rain storm, thunder and lightning, and the general sense of darkness that only doom inspired rock and metal can induce. This track was my personal favourite from the record, and definitely a track I would recommend you check out! Switching style once again for the opening moments of Cemetery Shoes, we’re once gain returned to the funky and upbeat tone which started this record off with such aplomb. Faster and more in your face, this is a track which is going to get people moving, chanting along with the band and embracing their music. More doom inspired this time around, the darkness simply oozes out of the track as the gravelly and powerful vocals echo out across the mix, all working together to form a mix which is accessible, dark and powerful. This is another high point on the EP, and another track which I would highly recommend you check out.
Title track Gorgantherron comes up next, opening with a sense of rumbling darkness (having recently watched Jurassic Park with my son all I could think of here was the T-Rex scene) before launching into a dark and distorted mix of down tuned guitar work, slow and pounding drums and rumbling bass moments. Once again airing more on the dark side of the spectrum, this track once again stands out as one to check out, the sort of track which defines the band, the sort of thing which is going to get them recognised, and the sort of track which crowds will beg for on the live scene. It’s only left then to Andromeda to close the EP, finishing on another dark and funky note and leaving no doubt about the style of the band. The closing moments of the EP are once again more restrained at times than some of the other tracks, yet still manage to pack a punch, show off the elements which make up the band, and leave you with a serious taste for the band. This track came a close second for me as regards my personal favourites, there’s just a real edge to the track which makes it stand out and become one to come back to time and time again.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Gorgantherron when I read up their bio on their page, but to be honest, their music takes that sense of humour, throws it out the window and results in something very serious and very well accomplished indeed. Powerful at times, restrained at others, but always keeping a sense of the band you’re hearing and where their music is going, this is an EP which people should hear, should look out for, and will no doubt enjoy when they’ve heard it.
To find out more about Gorgantherron, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.