Artist: Gasbrand
Title: Fading Away In Nothingness
Type: Album
Label: Self released
The duo of Azaziel and F.N. Comprise the German band Gasbrand, and this is their debut album after a couple of Eps. Oh and their names is the German for ‘gas gangrene’ a pretty horrible disease so I’ll leave you to search that one online… Is the music any more palatable? Oh indeed.
Opening with fast, fierce drumming, ‘Der Abgrund’ (the abyss) then softens into a melancholic, slower guitars sound and excellent harsh vocals. There is immediately a vast atmosphere here, rising up into something which inhabits a musical landscape somewhere between early In The Woods and some of the more intropsective aspects of the UK scene such as Fellwarden or Winterfylleth but with an edge that creeps in that is definitely more of their homeland. It is a beautifully arranged and put together piece; great waves of atmosphere in the swaying riff and the affecting melody, tempo shifts that plunge turbulence and out again. Just an excellent introduction.
We get a short interlude next, a little spoken word and simple strummed guitar, which sadly is beyond my pretty monolingual comprehension. Then ‘Stille’ offers us a gorgeous rich melody. We get some clean vocals harmonising with the harsh, a sense of the epic in vista. Midway it dips into still waters, before rising once more with renewed energy driven by the hard drumming. Its odd because I almost feel a Viking metal vein to this with the style of melody but, regardless, its a fine song.
The curiously titled ‘XVII-I Have Lived’ is more of a gear shift. There is a sense of introspection despite the strong, twisting current to the sound which is intriguing and keeps my attention focussed. Another short interlude, flowing water, whispered words and then stepping gently into the title track with its sedate and insistent hook to the melody.
A slightly longer instrumental, ‘Calamity’ then brings us to the almost eleven minute closer ‘Downfall’, another broad canvas of atmosphere and memorable melody.
As a debut this is such a fine one. There is a clear focus here and direction, and an immediate style to it. Could I constructively add anything? Part of me would like to hear a band of this quality do the odd shorter song (besides interludes everything is 7 minutes plus) with a harder bite and faster attack whilst retaining the Gasbrand knack for melody as something about the vocals and the drumming in particular is almost crying out for it. But it’s just a minor thought.
This is an excellent debut by a talented pair and I really look forward to wherever they go next.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 