It’s somewhat of a visual/aural oxymoron having Sheffield based three-piece Gozer’s debut album creep its way into my mind this morning. Looking out onto the gently browning grass in my garden, as the sun beats a steady tattoo of vitamin D onto my freckled arm, it is a bucolic view which would in any normal circumstance, allow my mind to decompress, luxuriate and swim in a heady fugue of a weekend to come. Trouble is, I have Gozer for company, and Gozer do not do sun, fun or hope. Nope, Gozer (spawned from the ashes of the disbanded Archelon) are pouring their icy, lumbering, expansive and niggling post-metal into my body, crushing my bonhomie and forcing me into a corner of the room to weep gently at the perceived futility of humankind’s existence. Well, not quite, but the long and short of it (not unlike the warnings on certain industrial strength medicines, that caution you to not operate heavy machinery after taking a nip) the same is true with this album, do not attempt to listen to ‘An Endless Static’ if you are not prepared for a journey into depths of despair and hopelessness.
There is something other worldly about certain passages on this album, and I think a lot of it comes down to slightly distanced vocals, that carve out paths through the rock, accompanied by strings and towering waves of guitars. This album takes it’s time getting to where it needs to go, it all feels unhurried, paced and confident. Comparisons in this genre tend to be dominated by scene luminaries such as Neurosis or Cult of Luna, but Gozer do more than enough to distinguish themselves from such lazy journalistic tropes. This has far more in common with UK bands such as Bossk and Latitudes with maybe a smidgeon (and I am aware I am contradicting myself here) of Isis. There is a depth to much of what resonates and sparkles here. The layers of musicality, of overlapping guitars, the lolloping drums that anchor everything at a mid-paced tempo as vocal samples of monk-like Gregorian chanting, slide over delicate yet spiked guitars, give everything a cloying, suffocating tarlike feel that suddenly opens its eyes for the first time and kisses you on the back of the neck and tells you how loved you are.
I think that is what makes this genre of music so interesting when it’s done well, that despite double digit minute running times for most songs, it’s not a chore, it’s not a bind, it’s the length that the songs need to be. It’s almost as if the band have so many ideas, that it takes this time to fully convey their sentiments, feelings and thoughts. Often the journey is more important than the destination, but it would be true to say, that most of the songs on this album, are ones that will continue to develop, gestate and develop over time. And therein lies the rub. Having to review this after a mere few listens is not really going to do this album justice. It feels like this album has so much more to give and to share. But my initial thoughts are that this album has balls, it has a purpose and a story to tell. None more so that on album closer ‘Wintercearig’ which at ten minutes and fifty-six seconds, is exactly what that running time is telling you. Gozer could not give a fuck what you think, or how you react, they are going to take their sweet time getting to where they need to get you to, and you’re either on the bus or being destroyed beneath its wheels. And although genre conventions do often dictate longer running times, the songs on offer here, never feel like they have overstayed their welcome. In a scene that is often impenetrable, confusing and deliberately obtuse, Gozer have created an album, that embraces all that make this genre essential but have put enough of their own DNA into the Petri dish to render this album worthy of a recommendation and one that will develop further upon each subsequent listen.
(8/10 Nick Griffiths)
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