Gorod - Leading Vision

Gorod‘s debut, Neurotripsicks, was absolutely shredding, sounding like if Joe Satriani played lead guitar in Symbolic-era Death, with low death growls for the vocals. However, thin production hobbled the album somewhat. That’s definitely not the case with Leading Vision (on Willowtip), which has a deeper and beefier sound while retaining the clarity typical of Willowtip releases.

The songwriting feels more assured now, with more space between riffs. The album has a strong Necrophagist vibe at times, with lots of diminished runs and odd-meter, pseudo-classical riffs. The soloing is very smooth and flowing, almost with a jazz fusion feel. Chris Poland comes to mind, which is great, as I’m a huge fan of his. The Symbolic vibe also remains strong, to the point that I often half-expect “Crystal Mountain” to kick in. However, these Frenchmen have a quirky side (think !T.O.O.H.!, but not so crazy) that sets them apart from other technical death metal bands.

Thirst for Power
Chronicle from the Stone Age

The midrange and low death growls here do the trick, but this is definitely a guitarists’ album. The last song ends with some gypsy jazz acoustic guitar (think The Triplets of Belleville), which is probably done in jest. But, man, it would be sick if they explored that further. Add in tasteful artwork and layouts, and you have a thoroughly enjoyable package. Pick it up

@ Amazon
@ Willowtip