GAUGE 16: The Ending Quest

Welcome back everyone, today I wanted to continue where I last left off with the music that I was reviewing/talking about, which was death metal. So, I was running some errands for the birthday party I was going to that weekend, which I mentioned in my last blog, and I was playing the album None So Vile by Cryptopsy. One thing in particular that I like about listening to music in the car is that I can really hear all the individual instruments more clearly and the quality is just so much better–which reminds me that I’ve been looking to buy a pair of headphones because I feel as though airpods just won't cut it for this kind of music and I need some sort of noise cancellation so I’m not just blasting my eardrums all the time as I would like to be able keep my hearing by the time I’m at least 60. 

[From Tenor]

When I was in the car, Spotify put on a recommended song, which I usually skip because they always end up being kinda bad or just not my style, however what came on was just so good I had to listen to the rest of the album which LED ME TO A GEM.

[From Encyclopedia Metallium]

Gorement, a Swedish death metal band that gained seemingly no public renown or accolades, created an album that over the years has gained a cult-like following. In the deeper parts of the internet that include death metal subreddits and the Encyclopedia Metallium, one of the largest metal archives that is a small community within itself, The Ending Quest, by Gorement, is highly regarded among metal enthusiasts, withstanding the test of time from its debut in 1994, without any kind of advertisement or promotions to support this long lasting following. 

[From Bandcamp]

The first song that I heard when I played this album in the car was “My Ending Quest” which opens with this droning introduction which exudes a sense of impending doom that just shakes you to your core to build up to this cultishly groovy riff that is the main base for the song which is just so damn cool. The tempo changes from slow and droney to quick and groovy that just pairs perfectly with the fuzzy highly distorted tone that they have on the lead and rhythm guitar, all while keeping the playing insanely tight without losing its edge, which is greatly exemplified in their song “Vale of Tears”. This album combines the aspects of doom metal like the half step thrills that were used in their song “Human Relic”–which just reminds me of the intro of Black Sabbath's self-titled song–with classic death metal, but with a heavy focus on the groove and breakdowns that are used in death metal, bringing with it a cold and hauntingly unique sound when used with their guitar tone. Along with the album art which depicts a dark statue reminds me of the type of artwork that you'd see in churches and the whispering in their song like “Sea of Silence” gives off almost a certain feeling of religious symbolism which is always cool to see in music, but I don't know if that was the intended purpose of the art or album that's just the kinda vibe I got from it.  

This album is really good. You should go listen to it HERE!!!