Gulch
Burning Desire to Draw Last Breath


4.5
superb

Review

by hung0ver USER (18 Reviews)
March 23rd, 2020 | 17 replies


Release Date: 2018 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Just a dirty, nasty, rowdy boy.

Gulch are a band that sonically embody the word 'feral' in a way not many other artists can claim to. Burning Desire to Draw Last Breath is an incredibly brief set of songs, clocking in at just over 13 minutes, barely pausing for breath as the Santa Cruz hardcore outfit tear their way through their own potent blend of viciousness. Their sound sits somewhere between the rapid dissonance of Botch's We are the Romans and the stomping, groove laden tendencies of Candy's excellent debut full-length, Good To Feel, with some clear death and black metal influences cropping up in fits and starts.

The production of the album is what really makes this collection of songs. Fairly sparse, simple and dirty, it front and centres the band's buzzsaw-like guitar tone, working alongside a vocal style that ranges from guttural death growls on the opening passage of 'R.S.A.', to the wretching fury of the final breakdown of 'Gruel for the Beast'. Frankly, the mixing feels disgusting - raw, rough and ready - and whilst this might be a drawback to a band aiming for a slightly more complex atmosphere, it serves Gulch's mission of creating a hellish and revolting take on punk perfectly. Rhythm also plays an incredibly important role on this record, with the drums taking on a mechanical driving force that feels, if very distantly, comparable to post punk. From the straight stomp of 'E. P. T. S' to the intro of 'Flesh Pursuit', where a bouncy and relentless rhythmic pattern takes over from an intro of blast beats, Gulch's snare tone forcefully propels each track to its conclusion.

Gulch tend to steer clear of being labelled formulaic on this record too, with each song varying up structure a little, to avoid the tendency often found in hardcore and metalcore: to build songs as vehicles to reach ever-increasingly crushing breakdowns. Whilst this record is undeniably a fairly meat-and-potatoes, meatheaded piece of extreme music, there's a certain precision to the construction of the songs that goes further than simply piling riffs on riffs on riffs. Moments of space are taken, tremolo-picked passages build some unsubtly blackened moments of harmonic tension, and the throbbing electronic intro track points to the potential for Gulch to explore some slightly more layered compositions.

Vitally aggressive, Gulch's Burning Desire to Draw Last Breath is an exercise in experimenting and blending genres with restraint, and keeping it simple in the places where it really counts. Wonderfully nasty and utterly raw, this EP is about as strong a foundation as a band could build themselves, whilst providing plenty of glimpses of where Gulch could take their sound in the future.



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user ratings (94)
3.9
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
accompliceofmydeath
March 23rd 2020


4921 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

No mention of the Sanrio hoodie?! Terrible review 0/10

hung0ver
March 23rd 2020


17 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Honestly I've not really been exposed to much Japanese Hardcore - UK based writer here but do need to explore some more. Mostly working my way through the hate5six gallery of US hardcore bands, esp. midwest and west coast atm, hence the Candy comparison.

parksungjoon
March 23rd 2020


47231 Comments


woah an accomplice sighting!

parksungjoon
March 23rd 2020


47231 Comments


https://i.imgflip.com/3tpy73.jpg

you have my attention kiddo, hard pos

Viriathus
March 23rd 2020


3570 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Good album yeah

parksungjoon
March 23rd 2020


47231 Comments


today.
promise

accompliceofmydeath
March 23rd 2020


4921 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Yo, Park. I make an appearance here and there. Still consistently rating albums though.

parksungjoon
March 23rd 2020


47231 Comments


nice man yea m/

parksungjoon
March 24th 2020


47231 Comments


fuck im never promising anyone anything ever again

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
March 25th 2020


10447 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

The vox on this are absolutely insane.

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
April 22nd 2020


10447 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Keep coming back to this. Such a solid release with no filler.

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
July 21st 2020


10447 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

oh shii



cool

accompliceofmydeath
July 21st 2020


4921 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

But will there be a new hoodie?

porcupinetheater
July 31st 2020


11054 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Holy shit this is actually some of the most bonkers, fun, insane hardcore shit I’ve heard in fucking forever, Jesus Christ

FabiusPictor202
April 13th 2021


1976 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

album art is siqq

kevbogz
September 4th 2021


6164 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

RSA rips

SomeCallMeTim
August 21st 2024


4561 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

album art is siqq [2] some freeky, thot provoking ish



band should be a band again



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