J-Man With their debut effort, Kentucky-based death metal act Gorgy unleash a relentless blast of brutal death metal that truly fits the label of "extreme" metal. The profane lyrics about violence, cannibalism, child abuse, and other unpleasant topics are bound to shock the unwary listener, and the equally extreme music makes Birth of Damnation one of the most brutal releases you'll hear in all of 2011. Aside from the pure "shock" value, I fail to see anything truly special or remarkable about this rather uninteresting effort. This mix of brutal death metal and grindcore has been done to death over the last decade-plus, and the "violent-for-the-sake-of-being-violent" lyrics don't exactly make my blood boil either. Gorgy shows a small bit of potential with this debut effort, but a substantial amount of improvement will be necessary to my enjoyment.

Birth of Damnation's strongest asset lies in the unsettling atmosphere that it successfully bestows upon the listener. The creepy "children TV show"-styled interludes followed by sinister blasts of brutal death metal keep me constantly on my toes, and Gorgy's ability to create such an intentionally miserable atmosphere is impressive. My main issue here is that this aforementioned asset could have been so much more effective. The music itself isn't all that memorable, and even though the lyrics are indeed disturbing, they lack the depth and intellect to make them seem like anything more than senseless babble about violence and hatred. Gorgy isn't exactly the tightest act around either, and the playing does generally feel a bit sloppy and unpolished. Although I have no doubt that they are talented musicians judging by the technicality of the compositions, the weak production and unpolished mixes don't do the band any justice.

Gorgy does show a small amount of promise with Birth of Damnation, but the unremarkable compositions and weak production values keep the album from being anything even remotely noteworthy. Die-hard fans of brutal death metal may find something to enjoy here; I just don't hear anything that I haven't already heard a dozen other times. Though not a terrible album, Birth of Damnation is one that you can easily miss without feeling left out. 2 stars seem fair here.