Published on Nov 30, 1999
I’ve been listening to death metal in some way, shape or form
for some time now, and I was all set to make the generic commentary
about the genre: death metal is death metal is death metal. As long
as you have screaming guitars, unintelligable vocals and a beat
that sounds like a hummingbird on speed — along with various
anti-religious comments thrown in for good measure — you’ve got
your formula for death metal.
Leave it to Sweden’s Gooseflesh to throw my definition of the
genre off in many regards. On their album
Chemical Garden, not only does this four-piece break the
above rules, but lays out a style that could well shape the darker
side of metal in the future. It’s an interesting journey, and one
that should be taken at least once.
First, though, let’s get the one major complaint out of the way:
don’t bother trying to follow the track listing on the CD, ’cause
it’s all scrambled. “The Syndicate” and “Controller” are reversed
on the CD; same goes with “Voices” and “Sore Throat”. And the
“lead” track, “Wraith,” doesn’t actually appear on Chemical Garden
until track five. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
Other than that, the band — vocalist/guitarist Kristian
Lampila, guitarist Tommy Scalisi Svensson, bassist/backing vocalist
Robert Hakemo and drummer Lars Berger — surprise in many ways.
First, they dare to tone down the sonic attack of their music and
throw the occasional melody into the mix. Imagine — melodies? In
death metal? Add into this the fact that you can understand what
Lampila is singing – yes, singing – about, and you have quite
possibly the birth cry of a whole new genre.
But what about the songwriting, you ask? Fear not, as
Chemical Garden boasts a nice variety of metal to hammer the
senses into submission. Tracks like “Burning Soul,” “Cut That Never
Heals,” “Wraith,” “Denial” and “Art Of Treachery” are actually kind
of fun to listen to. Even if you wouldn’t consider yourself a fan
of death metal per se, Gooseflesh actually sound more like Pantera
or a similar group, though they don’t sacrifice their musical
integrity. (
Relax, Pantera fans — just drawing a comparison to the
sound.)
And while some of the religious commentary might still offend,
Chemical Garden is, by the genre’s standards, relatively
tame. Still, you might want to give the lyric sheet a quick
once-over before Junior plays this one for Grandma.
If
Chemical Garden is a sign of things to come from Gooseflesh,
they could well be one of the bands leading metal to its resurgence
in the next year or so. Even if they were to self-implode, they
would have left the scene with one killer album. Here’s hoping that
someone at the label can re-arrange the track listing on the
packaging so that it reads in the correct order.