We Are Gathered Here Today

Glass Casket – We Are Gathered Here Today (Abacus Recordings)
Extreme hardcore and metal. Lots of grind influences, crazy guitar riffs everywhere, intense mad drumming, unintelligible vocals, a few clean/emo-ish vocals here-and-there (just one song, I swear), and just pure insanity on all fronts. Think The End, DEP, Between The Buried And Me, The Red Chord, with a smattering of Nora, and a dash of Burnt By The Sun. The songs flow very well into each-other, almost melding to form one long unpredictable track, and it’s very hard to pick out any discernible outstanding features for some of the tracks. On the whole, pretty damn good though, ya know? They still need more focus, though, since Cryptopsy-like exercises in mind-boggling technicality don’t suffice for repeated listens.

Tracks:
1) Starts with some very BBTS-inspired riffs and drums, and then takes on a life of its own.
2) Some really intense drumming, almost blast-beats, and the vocals take a turn for the brutal death metal sound. Last... minute... breakdown!
3) Breakdowns and guttural death vocals and an almost galloping rhythm, and then some really awesome catchy riffing and soloing.
4) Now we’re talking! The non-stop almost-pop-punk riff that is the undercurrent of the song carries it through everything the rest of the band members can throw its way, and they throw everything in the Super-Duper-Advanced Musician’s Handbook, plus vocals that will be the envy of the “brootal” kids.
5) 50 seconds of noise interlude.
6) Holy crap, did that just happen? The song starts a pretty solid chaotic tune, and then transforms into this total power-metal, “dragons rule the land” guitar solo followed by some sick riffing and breakdowns. Love!
7) Power chords, guitar squeals, death vocals, some black-metal-like riffs, breakdowns, and it all adds up to a song about metal? I think so, I’m not too sure –but I can safely say this song rocks.
8) Starts out super neat with driving palm-muted power chords, histrionic riffing, and the same type of intense stop-n-go drumming that owns the rest of the album, followed by some crazy breakdowns, and then lush, acoustic, layered acoustic passages with clean emotional (not emo) vocals. It then ends with another kick to the face that’s just amazing. Amazing.
9) The longest song here, at over seven and a half minutes, this incorporates all the elements in the first eight songs, and just brings everything together. Outstanding stuff.