The problem that most casual listeners have with the more extreme end of metal is not the very accomplished musicians but the Vocals. Cookie monster having a temper tantrum isn’t for me.....well that and the corpse paint....(if Gene Simmons and King Diamond had an extremely ugly baby, it would be Abbath)
Gospelhelm circumnavigate this issue on their debut. Ritual and Repetition.
They take musical motifs of black and death metal(you want blastbeats they got them) and mix them in a delicious cocktail that take nods, make that bows of respect towards Goth and trad metal. These influences blend together in a blistering fashion.
Formed in the height of the covid lockdown in Manchester in 2020 by Ricardo (Guitar and Vocals) and Coco (Bass and Vocals) joined by Jordan (Guitar) and Rob (Drums). They have sat on debut for two years. The video for into Smithereens (more of this later)surfaced and it floored me.
The magic here is in the co Vocals of Ricardo and Coco . They are a joy to hear. The genius idea of putting melodic alt. Type Vocals over extreme music made me pause to think why didn’t anyone think of this before?
The album kicks off with “Hope Springs Eternal” there is a flavour of both Depeche Mode and Paradise Lost darkness here. This is a very good thing indeed.“Satan Blues” has great lyric “its not about creation. It’s about self preservation” and has blastbeats and breakdowns that are superb. Credit to the Rhythm section who swing like a massive pendulum and hit like a hammer.
“Into Smithereens” is the opening of the B side if your playing on vinyl (and you really should be) . This song is magnificent . The vocals bounce back and fourth in a duet that is Divine. This band deserves to be huge and this song deserves to be sung back to them by huge crowds.
The album contains a lot of ideas. They all hit the target. There’s a distinct 80’s feel but shot through their own experiences it sounds like nothing else you will hear this year...or possibly in a few years to come.
Every good Jedi knows only a sith lord speaks in absolutes. Well I’m going to say if you love hard guitar music regardless of genre, you absolutely NEED to hear this album. Better still, support new music by buying a physical copy.
Its is not a fantastic debut. It is just simply a fantastic album.
This is a ritual you will want to repeat infinite times.
Nuff said.
-Bobo Coen
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