Reign of Lunacy

No secret, Canada loves death metal as much as we here in good ol' America do. Just like us yanks, where New York has proven time and again to be the origin point of many spectacular bands, Quebec has been Canada's capital of extreme music since the 90's, having betrothed unto us phenomenal acts such as Gorguts, Kataklysm, Agony, and of course Cryptopsy. All four of these groups tend to have two things in common, and that is both the sheer density of the music they produce; a fact especially true with Gorguts and Cryptopsy, and the insanity of the overall band; nowhere would the "insanity" factor be more prevalent than with Kataklysm.

This is not at all lost with today's subject matter, Gorelust, hailing from the city of Rimouski. Gorelust's debut album, Reign of Lunacy, dropped in 1995 and is full of everything you can come to expect from a large majority of brutal death metal.

A lot of the album is very reliant on speed, which is fine, but it would've been great to hear the speed broken up a little bit more by some heavy breakdowns. On the subject of which, there are quite a few slam riffs throughout the album, although somewhat few and far between. Tempo shifts, mindfucking technical riffs, and chaotic solos are commonplace throughout the album, and the songs tend to have a couple fake-out moments. A good example is after the second solo on "Sclerosed Brain Eater", my favorite song on the entire LP. The vocals add onto the mix of out-of-control music by jumping in range from low, gurgled growls to shrieking high screams. The name of the game here is dynamics, and Gorelust are a band that work with dynamics great.

Like with other Canadian death metal bands, the production is slick and guitar-heavy. The rhythm tones contain more beef than a cow farm, and the bass complements the guitars very well, being loud enough to provide a noticeable low end but not so loud that it's all you can hear (cough cough, Considered Dead). The drums provide their purpose and tie everything together, and I should also mention this; the drumming is as frantic as those aforementioned bands will showcase, being rather blast-heavy and featuring some speedy tom fills, which has kind of become the signature of Canadian death metal. This is shown in great effect on the title track, one of my other favorite songs on this album, as well as on "Indigestible Human Remains".

Gorelust have a pretty small discography, which sucks, but at least we were graced with the presence of an album as vile and powerful as Reign of Lunacy. This is one of those albums that will both mess with your head due to its technicality, but will also make you want to start beating the shit out of your closest human beings. If you've heard of bands like Cryptopsy and Kataklysm, but somehow aren't familiar with Gorelust, this is your chance, and recommendation, to get on that shit. This is an essential album.

Top picks: "Sclerosed Brain Eater", "Reign of Lunacy", "Indigestible Human Remains"

While this brand of death metal is usually not my go to, I found this album to be a really compelling and fun listen. I’m a big fan of the breakneck speed and pummeling force of grindcore bands like Napalm Death, Repulsion, and more recently Full Of Hell, so it’s no surprise I’m digging this album. I’m not very familiar with Gorelust, but after hearing this album I’m feeling compelled to dive into their discography, which unfortunately isn’t very large.

The first song comes out swinging with an onslaught of lightning fast riffs, which lock up with the impressively precise drums and bass. It’s immediately apparent how talented these guys are. They are constantly shifting tempo, and stopping and starting on a dime. Sometimes overly technical death metal leaves me a little bored, but the songs on this album have enough blood splatter and grime to keep my attention. Much like grindcore, the vocals are either a guttural bellow or a raspy high pitched scream, which I really enjoy because it makes the songs more dynamic. Similarly the music regularly sways between a winding maze of riffs, and full on blast beat attacks. Gorelust has technicality and groove, but also raw, brain battering force, and speed

I can’t say this is an album that blew me away or anything, but it’s definitely a fun one thats growing on me with each listen.