GURKKHAS "A Life Of Suffering" 2024
A bit of History first... ?
The GURKKHAS were fearsome warriors from Nepalese tribes who served in the Special Forces of the British and Indian armies, protecting Tibetan monks among others. They were reputed to be violent, brutal and merciless to all living creatures in their path... What history doesn't tell us is that they were (and are again!) an excellent Death-Metal band active from 1999 to 2003, who had risen from the ashes of DELAYED ACTION BOMB - and who had released two very good albums on MASSACRE Records and MORBID Records... One or two European tours if my memory serves me right, and then... nothing more... The band disappeared from the radar...
20 years later, singer JEFF has decided to reactivate this DEATH METAL force - and to pick up where the band left off, GURKKHAS is releasing on GREAT DANE Records a re-edition of the second album “A Life Of Suffering”, with four tracks from the first album “Engraved in Blood, Flesh and Souls” - the artwork is in fact the same, with the difference that we've gone from a dominant red to a dark blue, which ultimately adds a more menacing touch, very much in the ‘HR GIGER’ spirit - which is not to my displeasure.
So ... the content? Brutal, technical death metal with a savage, primal aura... It's not about demonstration, it's about efficiency, the whole thing is fast, vicious, unhealthy, with avalanches of accelerations, blast-beats, mid-tempos... disconcerting - always catchy ! The vocals are very bestial, adding to the band's musical violence - and the striking thing is to realize that these 12 tracks, recorded 20 years ago, are still very much of the moment, and in no way dated... Even in terms of production, they still sound terrific, yet raw and crude! This is mainly 90s DEATH METAL - the US style of bands such as SUFFOCATION, IMMOLATION, MORBID ANGEL, BROKEN HOPE... It's heavy pummeling, with alternating heavy, groovy passages and moments of pure blast, and guttural vocals that are perfectly in order but still audible - it's neck-breaking and knee-shattering!
Catch up with this new edition of “A Life Of Suffering” to prepare for the next outburst from GURKKHAS, who I feel is highly motivated and determined ! You're WARNED !
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