Let me start by saying that this year is amazing for extreme metal releases. Morbid Angel with Dave Vincent back…. Nile, Immortal, Suffocation, Decrepit Birth, Slayer and Necrophagist to name a few with albums coming later this year (All of which I will be covering). Obscura put out a technically amazing one a little while ago though there’s a bunch of synth vocals on it that I really dislike.

The subject of this review, Gorod, is a Technical Death Metal band hailing from France. France has been putting out great Death Metal for some time. Disavowed has risen far past my expectations, but upon discovering Bordeaux’s Gorod, my outlook on Europe’s impact on Tech Death changed immediately. Their prior albums, Nuerotripsicks and Leading Vision are incredible… but the sheer immense of the new material has found its way into my heart in record time.

The US has always dominated Technical Death Metal. First with Atheist and Cynic and now with such bands as Arsis, Dying Fetus, Decrepit Birth and Sickening Horror. Not to say they don’t have Tech Death bands overseas… Ours have just always kicked their asses. But now, Gorod and Germany’s Necrophagist help prove that the other hemisphere can hack it too.

Founded in 1997 under the name Gorgasm, the band has had their share of bumpy roads to go down, not releasing an album until 2004. It wound up being enough to land them a deal with Willowtip Records, which re-released it in 2005 with two new songs. Simultaneously they changed their name to Gorod so as to not be confused with the long-time Chicago death metal outfit of the same name. 2006 saw the release of their follow-up, Leading Vision and some extensive touring… and then finally things culminated in 2008, when uniting with drummer Sam Santiago resulted in the tighter, even more ridiculous material we have here.

Released the second of this month in Europe and July 28th here in the states, Process Of A New Decline embodies everything a technical death metal release ought to be. It’s fast, needlessly complex and pulls out all the stops. But that’s really not the whole story. What sets Gorod apart from most Tech Death, is their straight-forward melody and syncopation. Not to say Gorod doesn’t exercise their right to start and stop at will, the manner in which it’s done is simply less jarring on this record. Fans of Arsis’ last release We Are The Nightmare will especially enjoy this album’s ample melody throughout the onslaught of gutterals and growls, every category of blast beat, 32nd-note double bass, odd time signatures and unreal guitar prowess.

I especially enjoy the tinges of powermetal on Programmers Of Decline and Splinters Of Life, though I can’t say which of these would be my favorite track. The song The Path somehow manages to have some synth vocals that I don’t hate. The song is still mostly adrenaline and vastness, but the little break is nice. It envokes similar feelings as parts of Between The Buried And Me’s last epic, Colors. There are even many classic rock/hard rock attributes in a bunch of the song’s leads. This band is just all around monstrous.

I suggest attaining this album and playing it straight through, but if you need a sample, here’s Programmers Of Decline:

Bottom line, if you are a Death Metal fan, you should keep your eye on this band.

Process Of A New Decline
July 28, 2009
Willowtip

01. Disavow Your God
02. Programmers Of Decline
03. Diverted Logic
04. Rebirth Of Senses
05. The Path
06. Splinters Of Life
07. Guilty Of Dispersal
08. Gilded Cage
09. A Common Hope
10. Watershed
11. Almighty’s Murderer