Gorgon - Traditio Satanae

Black Metal requires, every once in a while, primitive crushing anthems to the spiritual rebel that resides in us. More than any other subset of metal, Black Metal seemingly appeals most to those who view the world through the lens of symbolism. Burning churches, corpse paint, self-mutilation, the destruction of iconography, and overall relentless attacks on widely accepted religious hegemony are the burning coals in the Black Metal worshipper's furnace. Traditio Satanae was for me that heralded anthem this past year, speaking to the 'heretic, outcast, reprobate, and infidel' that I feel I often find myself relegated to in the judging eyes of others. So it was an honor to receive Gorgon's gem of an album - sent straight from the Gorgon's maws - in the mail as a dubbed tape promo with some personalized attention. I may yet find my faith in the tireless efforts of others' artistic endeavors!

Gorgon's history dates back into the early and mid 90's with excellent albums such as the 1995 debut The Lady Rides A Black Horse. 1996's Reign of Obscenity and 1998's more nihilistic The Jackal Pact, continued in the Gorgon style. With a style drawing  more comparison to the Swedish and Greek scenes with perhaps a bit of the Norwegian horde's maliciousness, we find solid Black Metal not quite as melodic and grandiose as Sacramentum or Dissection. Gorgon none-the-less tap into that brighter melodic side at times but Traditio Satanae, now appearing twenty-three years later from the band's earlier releases, bears resemblance to these earlier albums but with some hints of thrash and an overall more direct attack. When speaking to Gorgon's leader, Chris, he talked about these early influences. "I was musically interested in everything that came out with an "evil" imagery, whether it was Acheron (from your region), Death SS (Italy), Zemial, Necromantia or even Varathron from Greece, Bestial Summoning and Funeral Winds from Holland, Decayed in Portugal, Death Yells in Chile....and from Finland with Beherit and Impaled Nazarene. I liked this last band for their spirit "apart" from the current standards. Going off the rails instead of going with the masses was also what we advocated." 

Traditio Satanae is an album which comes across as the work of long-standing experience but also as an album full of energy and passion. I explained to Chris that to me, Traditio Satanae is loaded with energy and grit creating an overall sense of primacy and restless exuberance. How has Gorgon been able to maintain this attitude on this new album? "The brutality of the music, the generalized hatred perceived throughout the entire album and the sound quality, are the 3 major elements of my answer to your question. While many BM bands choose to have a "standard" sound, like many other bands, we decided to have a completely different one. There has to be a consistency between what you want to offer and the sound you are going to use. We practice a powerful Black Metal and our sound must be set accordingly... Compared to the previous album, I would say this one is definitely untamed, faster overall and also fully loaded with catchy melodies. It's normal that the band is making progress in what it creates, so your vision is absolutely right and I also share it. We really took a step forward here, in terms of efficiency."

Opening with "Blood Of Sorcerer", Traditio Satanae doesn't waste any time swinging the axe - guitars are sharp and precise. I'm a fan of the punchy in-your-face impactful drumming on the album - even if I am quite confident there is sampling and programming at work, it all sounds natural and honest and human - with rhythmic motifs in songs such as "Death Was Here" and "Let Me See Behind" offering immediacy and urgency to the tracks. My favorite track on the record since day one has been "Entrancing Cemetery". From the first powerful riff that leads into the verse, the track is driving and persistent until the end, even when offering space to some slower guitar moments. Full of hooks and barbs that inch ever deeper into your skin, "Entrancing Cemetery" is just one of several songs on the album which is riddled with clever nuances that burrow into the brain and live there long after the track is over. While I feel the album might be one or two songs too long, the title track, "Traditio Satanae" as well as the shorter "Scorched Earth Operation" keep the second half of the album just as powerful as the first half. 

With Gorgon playing live often lately in Europe and hopefully soon in North America, there is cause beyond their solid discography to give Gorgon play time. "The public generally reacts very well to our concerts... The current line-up is the same since the group's return to the stage, namely: Hellesylt on drums, Mathias on guitar, Ozrib on bass and me on guitar and vocals. The band is now more powerful live than ever, thanks to the current line-up." Chris' tireless effort and powerful Black Metal has found a convert to Gorgon through this newest album, Traditio Satanae. Logistically speaking, Reign of Obscenity and The Veil of Darkness have both been repressed on vinyl by Osmose Productions leaving only The Jackal Pact and The Spectral Voices as the more difficult gems to find for those who want to delve in head first. 

Chris' last words to those who wish to engage with Gorgon: "I will end with the traditional invite to come and discover us, for those who do not yet know us musically. In the digital age, it is often necessary to seduce in a few minutes. This mindset of musical consumption imposes that you have to play well from the start, otherwise the listener will quickly move on to something else. So let your readers validate for themselves whether or not they consider us to be a part of this category. They deserve this punishment."

Shades of Grey - House of Fools

Thrashback Records, if you haven't noticed by now, is engaged in an onslaught of never-before available releases of old and truly obscure Thrash and Thrash-associated metal. Shades of Grey is another of those bands. With this release of their 1989 demo, House of Fools, this outlier to the Chicago scene from Indiana that may appear on old fliers with Anacrusis, Zoetrope, and Funeral Nation gets some renewed attention. Otherwise, interest to Shades of Grey is likely the involvement of members in other bands. Bassist Peter Clemens is involved with long-running death metal project, Invasion, Death Thrash entity Sea of Tranquility, and the mentioned Yellowtooth which appeared on the Book of Armageddon compilation LP. Drummer Dave Hornyak did a short stint in Cathedral at one point and is currently involved with Speedfreak, doing a sort of Pantera / Down thing. Larry Roberts, who would join for 1991's Under The Skeptic's Eye can be found as a long time resident of Novembers Doom. 

While the tracks here aren't shoddy, it's not hard to see why the band did not get much of a foothold. Fairly standard Thrash is on display with average riffs, average energy, and psuedo-political and social oriented lyrics. Its a chug-heavy affair, mostly, with "Under The Skeptic's Eye", which opens with an intro similar to Voivod's "Nuclear War" and ends on a an interesting rhythmic-punctuated riff with Peter Clemens' underneath accentuating the rhythm with rubbery bass highlights. Sometimes the band made bad decisions in arrangement, such as during "Rage of Insanity", where Shades of Grey jam an acoustic section in the middle of the track that punctures the track like a galvanized spike into it's energy reserves. Other than "Under The Skeptic's Eye" I am also partial to "Pizza Face", the release's laugh track, which is like Legion of Death's "Sewer Rat", but not quite as good. The band had written the song off according to a 1990 interview in Trechoma Zine, but the song helps break up the rest of their mid-brow material. 

As always, Thrashback does an incredible job with the layout and product overall. My copy of the LP comes with an authenticity letter, insert with lyrics and live photos, and show flyer from the band's active period featuring Realm, Carnage, and Neurotoxin. All things considered, I could see those really interested in the late 80's early 90's Chicago thrash scene wanting a copy of this. For me, the lackluster riffs and energy coupled with stereotypical pedestrian lyrics lose my interest. For Shades of Grey, when it comes to their musical output, I think Power Packer Zine summed the band up perfectly when editor Cameron Gillespie ended the review by simply writing AVERAGE in big ole capital letters.