Review Summary: Gory Blister?!? Really? Why?
Ignore the name, Gory Blister is a technical death metal band from Italy that formed in 1991, they have released a few full lengths in their time as a band and this is their latest. Italian is slowly becoming a force in the heavy metal world, and this band is a good example of why. This effort should impress most metalheads the world over.
Gory Blister definitely holds their own in the realm of tech death and manage to restrain themselves from just all out whanking like some other technical bands that will not be named for the sake of the review, with that being said the music on the album is technical enough to prove that these guys have some serious skills with their instruments.
The album expresses the perfect balance between brutality and melody, both are very present throughout the album. Some of the riffs on the album are more memorable than others, the tracks "Void Made Flesh" and "Vanishing Ruins" have very catchy riffs throughout. That's one of the things that Gory Blister manage to do this record, write very technically impressive songs that actually hold some melodic quality which many other bands in the genre in the past have shown that this is clearly difficult to do.
During the course of "Graveyard of Angels" the drummer completely pummels his kit. The drumming is done with intensity that certainly shows he holds a great deal of talent, but the main focus for Gory Blister is without a doubt the guitarwork. The band previously had a more progressive sound that isn't as big of an influence on this album but it is clearly still an element in the music.
As mentioned earlier "Graveyard of Angels" is a fairly melodic record. The vocalist is the weakest link in the group, but all in all he is still above average and has a decent range, from soaring highs to death valley lows and overall he does a good job, nothing more, nothing less. His voice does mesh well with the music and keeping in mind that this is technical music the focus isn't mainly on him throughout anyhow.
When Gory Blister takes the time to emphasize their melodic side the outcome is beautiful, these moments form some of the best guitar leads that come to mind in recent years. The solos melt face without a doubt, in this bands case though it might have been a better choice to go with a more melodic, emotional style of soloing. Fans of technical death metal should be pleased with this release and the thick, brutal riffs should be enough to tide over fans of brutal death while the floaty, slick leads subliminally caress the ears of the listener. This album may be a bit of a grower for some. The technicality can't truly be enjoyed fully first listen and the more you listen the more you'll notice that the chaos blasting through your speakers is actually controlled and actually well thought out.
So overall "Graveyard of Angels" gets a solid 4 out of 5. The album has great replay value if you let it grow. They aren't reinventing music, but they are doing something that isn't done often and playing very enjoyable technical death. With this album Gory Blister found their own sound rather than latching on to their influences and overall this stepped worked out well for the band. If the next release focuses more on the strengths Gory Blister might just earn themselves a classic rating, they certainly show the potential. Highly recommended. Considering the had a seven year gap between their previous full lengths let's just hope they take their time making the next one, it's quality not quantity.
