Review Summary: Not the most varied or original, but still quality Tech Death.
Even in Gojira’s earliest demo, it still shows how tight they were as a band. They clearly had the skill & know how to make great Tech Death. I wish that Gojira would stick to this type of metal more, and eventually carve out a more unique and fleshed out sound. But alas, this works too.
The production quality isn't the best (as you can probably guess), but it gets the job done. I can hear all of the instruments clearly.
The lyrics are unremarkable, about death, destruction, ect. But the riffs and chugging are well thought out, even if it's not very original. The thing is with this genre is that there needs to be a balance between the technical playing, or at least be done tastefully. Even in their first demo, they knew this and balanced it with mostly chugging, but some slow moments.
But as I mentioned, this isn't very original. There’s still typical death metal stuff in here, and one person that commented on this album compared them to Morbid Angel. I don’t really listen to that band and the like so I hope the replies fill me in.
Victim, the first track, is a good example of what I mentioned before. Slow moments, technical, and chugging. Blasphemy is more generic than the others, but there’s still some cool moments and picks up at the second half of the song.
Rigor Mortis is easily the best track on the demo. It starts off with chugging and has riffs that always stick in my head. This has the most interesting moments, and balances it with slow moments that really help it out. I would say it's the most well thought out on the demo and really show that the band can still do great songwriting.
The last track, Sentenced to Life, has more slow moments than in other tracks in the song, especially in the later half. But it’s still kind of unremarkable. It's certainly not as memorable as Rigor Mortis, but the slower moments of the song are much more interesting than the faster parts. Also the chugging at the later half of the song is great. Overall a bit of a mixed bag of a song.
Overall, this demo is generic at times and at others shows a lot of potential. Some say that this is a fan only type deal, but as someone who loves Death Metal era Gorjia and wants more, this certainly can fit the bill.
Recommended Tracks: Rigor Mortis, Sentenced to Life.
