Review Summary: Hunab Ku's debut. Garth! That was a haiku!
When you pop a CD into the player, and, immediately, a demonic howl accompanied by stinging-sharp guitar slammage explodes out of it, you know you're either in for another muddied, unlistenable record, or a trip to a friendly, educational asylum. In the case of Hunab Ku's "The Gaze Inward," I can happily say that the case is the latter.
People who have heard anything by the Dillinger Escape Plan and its accompanying screaming reaming genre will note this album's similarity; Hunab Ku, differently, decides to forgo the thrash aspect of clashing cymbals and roaring guitars at times; they replace it with a detached, eerie atmosphere, or throw some accordion into the mix to keep things interesting. The lead's indomitable vocal range augments the instrumentalists' compositions hugely; he goes absolutely everwhere (read: shrieking, moaning, laughing, chanting, freaking out, etc). Combining all these attributes lends to a deadly assault; the catastrophic clangs, solidified by a shower of wails, can immediately give way to a reprise, lulling you into a deep relaxation before the comfort relents to another storm.
Over the CD's twenty five minute span, the band pulls out all the stops and shows you that they can go everywhere and anywhere they choose with their instruments of destruction. This approach is not without its shortcomings, though. In a genre as obscure as avant-garde thrash metal, even short songs can seem unapproachable; a mainstream music fan wouldn't understand or enjoy them. For the experienced in metal ensembles, or for someone willing to give the world of insanity a shot, this is a great place to begin (to have your brain destroyed).
