PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Hailing from the darkest nether reaches of Florida, but drawing their lyrical and musical influence from Greece (their name comes from the Greek term “religion of knowledge”) both ancient and modern, Gnosis deliver a dark and malificent brand of dark and dank black metal that is as primeval and primordial as the swamps from which the four band members crawled.
Each of the nine (full) tracks oozes brooding malevolence of the most putrid kind, while not forgetting the importance of harmony and melody. The bass and drum lines of CRC and CV respectively (the band members are known by their initials) boil and bubble, moulding dense layers of seething darkness, over which AF weaves his swirling riffs and malignant melodies, while JS’s vocals evoke the spirit of pure, pagan and visceral evil with their grunting, yet remarkably lucid, delivery.
However, the malevolence is not fully realized, as the songs are, by and large, formulaic and the production falteringly variable in its quality – often at the expense of AF’s guitars, which are often lost in the drum mix: this is most obvious on ‘Lotan’s Dwelling’, where both the main melody and solo sections are drowned in a morass of overly-emphasized toms. When the balance is right, such as on ‘The Plague Of Azotus’, ‘Temple Of The Sea’ and ‘Gnosis’ itself, then the effect is as vibrant as it is rancorous. The performances themselves are accomplished, but nothing outstanding: nevertheless, a promising enough debut and, coming at a time when many other acts from that particular part of Planet Mosh seem to be struggling to find an identifiable sound of their own, one which
Tracklist:
Intro / Primaeval Light / The Plague Of Azotus / Temple of The Sea / Chariot Of The Sun-Moon / Cult Of The Great Serpent / Lotan’s Dwelling / Apzu Tiamatu / Gnosis / The Third-Eye Gate
Recommended listening: ‘Temple Of The Sea’
‘The Third Eye Gate’ is released via Nuclear War Now! Productions on January 15.
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