Gadget

We’ll never recover from the premature loss of Swedish grinders Nasum, but to help ease the pain a bit, fellow countrymen Gadget have upped the ante with their already impressive grind sound. The Funeral March is their first important album; while their last full-length, Remote, was excellent but faded away, this one won’t be forgotten. With a wildly powerful production sound that is, in a word, huge, The Funeral March combines short grindcore songs with longer, more melodic yet still heavy parts, creating a whole that almost has an epic feel. The vocals alternate from a low Cookie Monster-style to a scratchier scream; the riffs fly by, sometimes irrelevant to what’s happening behind the drum kit, which is awesome, and sometimes creating that epic atmosphere. Much like later-era Nasum, there is a feeling and some emotion behind this one, putting Gadget in a different realm than most grind bands, one that eschews shit and slop (nothing against that, of course) in favour of a more streamlined and slick sound. With a touch of grinding groove, a bit of apocalyptic doom, and, mainly, tons of blast beat-driven grind, The Funeral March is a treat for the ages, at maximum potency when listened to on headphones, favourite beverage nearby.