| For those who haven’t experienced the blitzkrieg of sound that is Gorch Fock, Thrilller, the latest release by the Austin septet, is the best trial-by-fire available. Rather than start with a slow, dawdling intro or a series of highly accessible songs, Thrilller drops the listener straight into a warzone — a fitting approach, considering the origin of the band’s name is a three-masted German naval vessel.
The band’s website labels them as “Rock / Death Metal / Experimental.” If this seems too abstract, it’s only because it is meant to be. Synth-drum intros like that in “One of 5 Sisters” seem to echo the Refused, before slipping into the grinding, titanic riffs reminiscent of Doomriders or Sadaharu. Epic buildups and brooding bass lines hint at influences from Texas’ own Explosions in the Sky, while vocals pay homage to the Minutemen or Neil Young’s talk/sing style. Comparisons could be made to the different parts of the album all day but entirely miss the point of the whole. This is a band that revels in its schizophrenic nature.
But this works better sometimes than others. The low-fi grind of the opening track “Executive 3000,” helps build energy, but it isn’t until the second track, “Megumi Miyazoto” that the band takes on much life. Dual trumpet blasts bring an unusual flavor to a genre generally reserved for hyperamplified guitars, helping to break up the mix and avoid the “wall of sound” syndrome typical of many other similar bands. “Patience for the Swede” and “Youth at Risk,” are back-to-back tracks that would make any experimental-whatever-core fan drool, and with their catchy and unusually-melodic vocal lines, they represent the high point of the album. The ominous bass intro of “Owl Perkins’” builds to a triumphant climax, and the song’s haunting vocals and breakneck stops and starts illustrate that at their best, this band is startlingly cohesive and innovative.
However, Thrilller is Gorch Fock’s soundtrack to warfare, and as such it experiences the ups and downs of a prolonged battle. After a certain amount of time, desperation inevitably sets in. Too many of the best tracks are lost in the middle of the album, with the breathtaking “Running Out of Gas…” relegated to the second to last track. “Fitzcarroldo” may offer a breather between some of chugging riff-fests elsewhere on the album, but comes off as more of a six minute misfire that could be delayed until a few songs later, if not eliminated completely.
Despite its occasional slips into the monotonous, Thrilller can sate even the largest thirst for pure unadulterated rock. The riffs are huge, and the band’s obsession with discord remains manageable enough to churn the waters and still keep Gorch Fock afloat.
- Evan St. John (AustinSound.net)
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