Death is June - Tuscoma : " Gu-cci"

When you aspire to transcend sub-genres, you might not become the next Neurosis or Deafheaven, but you do have a chance of putting out an album better than most of your peers in the sub-genre you do end up falling into. Such is the tale of this band from New Zealand. They have made one of the more unique death metal albums I have heard in a few months. Granted I have at least a dozen death metal promos waiting in my in-box this morning. There are not enough hours in the day to listen to everything that shows up and I can weed out most by deleting things that speak of technicality or brutality as if they are virtues to compensate for poor songwriting.  Then it is up to the band I do click on to catch my attention in the first song. 

These guys did that with the eerie atmosphere of the guitar melodies that crept out before they poured on the chugging and double bass death metal is known for but with a dissonant atmospheric sheen to it. They are not as subtle on the second song and stick to pummeling with a dense sonic mix, that makes this sound like a storm of guitars. They refocus their song writing for the more nuance driving groove of "the Importance of Being Vogue". The growls and throaty yells are not easy to make out in terms of lyrics, I do appreciate the act rather than being about disembowelment the songs are spewing venom in the face of today's celebrity worship and materialism. Something I can fully get behind disemboweling. 

There is a little more sludge influence in the chaos of sonics that propels 'the Stylish Void" . While it sounds pretty impressive the song has little direction or dynamics as a song so relies on the fury of its sound.  They are more effective when hitting a dark and foreboding balance of atmosphere and  menace on the last song. It does build in intensity up to the point of blasting off.  I will give this album a 9 despite their tendency to get caught up in the heaviness as they are doing something different in more respects than not. 

4.6