This is old school Death Metal from Brittany. Old School in the sound – reminiscent of Immolation, Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse and even Death in parts. It is also old school in that this album is a compilation of two releases from over two decades ago. 2000’s Engraved in Blood, Flesh and Souls and the following year’s A Life of Suffering. It’s not a bad time for Great Dane to put this out as the great unwashed are gnashing at their bullet belts for this kinda sound.

It’s a pretty straight forward raw meat and tatties affair which will tick the right boxes for a lot of folk. There is no slam or core elements here just gnarly mid to fast paced dirty Death metal.

The first four tracks are from the debut album opening with “Diabolic Mission” which kicks off a blistering double kick before dropping back to a chugging riff. A soupcon of melody here and a pinch of Florida classic there and the recipe for this compilation is cast onto the blood and sinew spattered menu.

“Crucified” gives off massive Deicide vibes – some hectic riffing and M50’s phraseology is very Bentonesque thought there are elements of the drums which remind me of early Slipknot.

As a kid I had a brief interest in the Gurkha regiment thanks to reading Commando comics. Their bravery and fierceness is legendary and my older pacifist self finds it incredible that men from Nepal could put so much on the line for a country that has done little else but oppress their homeland. Gurkkhas the band (note the extra k) use the code of the regiment and Nepalese lore as the lyrical muse for their music so it is little surprise that the next track is entitled “The 12 Ghurkas Commandments’”. This track blends some Heartwork era Carcass with some Obituary for a riff heavy stomping good time whilst the final track from the debut – “The Voice of the Terrible One”. This track is based around some stabby riffs and a couple of Black Metal style breaks. It is OK but sounds a little disjointed to me and lacks the fly paper stick of the previous tracks.

Onto the sophomore effort – “A Life of Suffering” which strangely gives this comp its name as well. Confusion is soon pummelled out of my noggin by “Born on a Day of War” – proper early 90’s flannel and shorts Death Metal. Heads down, horns up – watch out for Ace Ventura in the pit. “Tears of Blood” keeps this going. See Cannibal Corpse it is possible to exsanguinate in other bodily fluids you naughty boys! It’s a good track but it is a little long at 5 minutes 39 and I feel my mind wand….. hey what is that over there?

Title track is up next and again very Deicide to these wax encrusted ears before an epic in the shape of “Kukri”. In my youth I had a Kukri – the curved traditional knife of the Gurkha. A deadly and to a young teenager in the Boy Scouts a fascinating blade. This track is more bludgeoning than it is sharp, evoking in me memories of Nile but without the technical breaks. It’s got some real groove in there and some Slayer Seasons In the Abyss rhythms. The thrash influence continues into “The Day of Battle” which gallops along at a fast pace as does “Legacy” that follows. As you can tell by my increasing brevity in prose I am starting to get a little worn down by the album by now.  The quality is still pretty high it is just my interest that is waning, just as it would have done when this first came out.   I start imagining “If I Should Die” but with Corey Taylor singing as there, again, is summat very Iowan about the track. By the time “Chronicles of Chaos” rumbles through my speakers to end the album with its Lombardo style paradiddles and back masked nonsense I have made my mind up about Gurkkhas. They have cut and shut two albums of mid-level early noughties Death Metal with a couple of stand out tracks. It neither sounds dated nor essential it is just competent Death Metal.

A set menu in a high street cafe. It will fill a hole when needed.  Not too bland but not spicy enough.

(6/10 Matt Mason) 

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