Album Review: Golgothan - Leech
Reviewed by Sam Jones
So, here’s an album I’ve had my eye on for a while, its good to finally give this a go. As I’ve mentioned before I’m a sucker for a band’s long awaited debut full length release. Leech is one such album we must recognise in this category as, it’s certainly been a long time coming. Formed originally in 2011 as Gutwrench where they only released the one EP before switching things up and altering their name to Golgothan where, come 2014, they began releasing a slew of EPs onwards until 2017 however things would soon slow down where a number of Singles would be released. Another EP would see the light of day by 2020, but finally we have their first full length album. After nearly ten years its good to see the band at last release their first full length record and hopefully it’s the first of many. So, this is Leech. A record I’ve been quite excited for.
The introductory piece that opens this album up doesn’t merely give us an atmospheric idea for what this record will present, but also what form of vocal delivery we’re going to receive too. I like this little feature as when the vocals do kick into gear during the first real song they’re not so much a discovery as they are a reaffirmation. The band ease us into their vocal performance as opposed to thrust it upon us out of nowhere. I think it works for the best as they work between two different approaches: a deep and sonorous performance that bellows through all the depths they reach and the second, perhaps most significant considering it’s what we’re introduced with, is this goblin-esque scathing delivery that’s much more visceral and in your face. This latter performance feels to be the real soul of the album as while the gutturals are great and are as nasty as you’d like them to be, these goblin screeches seem to scratch upon you whilst listening. It’s an ugly and gargling persona yet one that fits Golgothan’s personality like a glove.
There appears to be a deep interplay between the drums and guitar work here. As you’re listening pay close attention to how the drums and riffs seem to compliment one another, it’s not like they’re constantly playing at the same time as each other but they’re forever in tandem with the other. Not only does this signify tight band coordination that we can identify especially during a first listen, but it means we’ve always got some kind of momentum to carry us forward through the record. We’re not going to be left here guessing as to what kind of chemistry the band share together, it’s truly out on a pedestal for us to observe and appreciate. That kind of showcasing is quite rare, often a band will simply play and we’re there to pick it apart by ourselves but in this instance, Golgothan aren’t afraid to let us in behind the scenes if you will and enable us to understand how this band works. By doing so it gives us a greater understanding of how play together as a unit and what their songwriting may hold in store for us.
I love how the riffs hit us. This isn’t a guitar performance that’s merely content to perform riffs abashed and quietly while everything is happening, the tone is one of a WHOMP effect, throughout the more mid-range tempo parts of this record we receive massive aftersounds of tone that linger with fattened reverb. The riffs aren’t concerned with our well-being, much like the vocal performance they can be scathing, cutting, slicing. The band are here to ruin you in all the malicious capacity they deem themselves capable of doing. In this respect we can specify Leech as a particularly modern record where it’s not just the riffs themselves that should be respected but how the band utilise their production and tone to create something nasty and utterly reviled. It’s continuing the band’s motif of disgust where massive, yet controlled outbursts of lingering tone and neck sweeps populate the record just as much as any rudimentary instrumental implementation.
I really liked the lack of solos here, of course they’re great to listen to as they provide a nice instrumental break from the chaos the band provide. However I feel like the rarity of guitar solos enables the band to ditch many of the smaller niceties that could get in the way of their crushing performance. Guitar solos are great to hear as we all like to enjoy them, but they also provide a sterilised uniformity to our experience, we all know what to expect during a solo and can often decipher what will come afterwards. It’s why for that reason the band didn’t implement them everywhere, by removing them from most of their track structures and leaving the durations specifically for the band to interplay with one another without soloing interference they attempt to minimise how easily we could predict where the songwriting is going. Anything goes with the band when this is the case and it makes it all the more exciting, because you quickly recognise Golgothan aren’t approaching their songwriting with cut-and-paste songwriting techniques.
In conclusion, I actually ended up liking this record the more it carried on. There was never precisely a point where I disliked it however it continued to grow one me as I became more adjusted to the nature of songwriting Golgothan sport herein. It’s a record that never wishes to make itself predictable to us and for a lot of its duration this is definitely the case as riffs and vocals come at us with concrete heavy impacts that hardly ever relent. It’s an ugly record for sure but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a refined approach to songwriting, it’s a well coordinated assault that allows you to take in each of the band’s elements without feeling like we’re drowning in the sonic assault. The slight rarity of guitar solos, interplaying of drums and riffs as well as an approach to songwriting that makes for a punishing listen gives this record a menacing aesthetic. For those who like their metal a little more modern particularly if you like some deathcore riff sensibilities, this may be an album you could be interested in
