W.’s Band of the Month: Gutter Instinct
Electronic press kits are often hyperbolic to the point of ridiculousness. The final product rarely ever lives up to the hype. If a record label is comparing a young band’s demo to venerable titans in the underground, you would be wise to be skeptical. However, sometimes labels actually get this stuff right. Friends, say hello to Gutter Instinct, Dubya’s band of the month,
Teitanblood. Portal. Bölzer. Grave Miasma. These are the monstrous pillars of metaldom to whom this young act, formed by Oscar Persson, Hannes Hellman and Thomas Ernemyr in Helsingborg, Sweden in 2012, have been compared. And while I don’t know about all that, I do know that the band’s first EP, The Insurrection, rips. Hard.
Why is there so much acclaim surround a Swedeath release? For such a young band, these riffs and songs are head and shoulders above those penned by the majority of throwback old school death metal acts and derivative revivalists. Take, for example, the delicious interplay between the guitars in “War Command”. Or the rabid trade-off between the drums and riffs in “Under the Scythe”. Still need convincing? The ascending scales in “We Hate You” are going to peel your skin, face first, in the way that only buzzing Swedish guitars can. Drop a Stockholm-sized helping of stupefying solos on this monster of a tiny release, and you’re left with one entrancing EP.
I don’t typically find myself drawn to this type of metal, but boy am I glad I opened that email.
You can find the band on Facebook. Also, be sure to pick the EP up at Bandcamp or get it from Prosthetic Records.
(Photo VIA)
