siLLy puPPy After a quite satisfying debut album in the form of “Neurotripsicks,” the then newly named GOROD (formerly Gorgasm) released their second album LEADING VISION two years later with the exact same lineup which offered a fleeting moment of security although the unique drumming style of Sandrine Bourgugnon would jump ship after this album. This one was released by Willowtip in 2006 and then on Candlelight Records the following year. LEADING VISION refines the sound on the debut and takes several elements and refines them into a tasty progressive death metal smorgasbord feast. All the elements still reside here with new touches and more nuanced takes of progressive technical gymnastics all the while keeping their listenability creds in shape by crafting all the necessary accessibility factors to keep the listener engaged throughout the album’s run.

Right from the beginning track “Here Die Your Gods,” the listener is treated to a more energetic and progressive groove metal type of experience than what was experienced on the debut and becomes slightly more frenetic and a bit more accessible here. While the debut focused on extremely progressive types of delivery, this one focuses on dishing out more accessible riffs that carry on the Pantera-esque riffs and even tones down the neoclassical wankery and channels it into a more Dimebag Darrell type of bad boy bluesiness, albeit in a more progressive way with killer time signature workouts and other tech death artistry. Don’t get me wrong though. The neoclassical guitar tradeoffs do indeed occur, just not as often. Once again Guillaume Martinot delivers the most tortured soul death vocal workouts with Arnaud Pontaco and Mathieu Pascal offering their now classic dual guitar assault that melds melody, dissonance, thrashy groovilisicous riffage and highly energetic ear assaults. Benoit Claus also provides a more than competent bass ravishment with Sandrine’s drum ecstasy complete with cymbal inappropriateness. The band is simply on full fire.

The album is also shorter than the debut which serves such demanding metal music well as there is more than enough energy delivered throughout to wear out even the most indefatigable listener as it is incessant in its aggressive approach with only their signature staccato and stop and go approach that utilizes intermittent dramatic pauses to counter-effect the unremitting extreme metal assault. GOROD succeeds in creating a dramatic and differing sophomore release that successfully sets itself apart from the debut without alienating any fans who became addicted to their unique sound on “Neurotripsicks.” All the death metal chops infused with jazz-infused technical yet melodic workouts are on full display here and more than match the debut. While some find this to be a better release than the debut, i find them to be on equal footing. There were tradeoffs in the changes going on between the albums. Each album displays different strengths and different weaknesses yet both are equally dynamic in their approach. I find this release to be no better nor no worse but certainly an excellent listen that creates a totally unique sonicscape that demands full attention.

adg211288 Leading Vision is the second Gorod album, which was released in 2006. At the time of writing this is the only album from this French band that I’ve heard in full, so I really couldn’t say how it compares to their other releases, all I know is that Leading Vision leaves me with very mixed feelings.

The band plays technical death metal, and there are some prog twists within their sound as well. This is how I really like my death metal to be, but I feel that the genre needs to do three things right in order to make a cracking release. Firstly it needs good technical ideas played by skilled musicians. Secondly it needs a decent vocal performance. Last but certainly not least it needs to retain an aspect of brutality along with the technicality – after all this is still death metal we’re listening to.

Gorod’s Leading Vision hits two of these nails on the head with perfect accuracy. But with the remaining nail they missed it and smashed their thumb pretty badly. So which nail did they miss? The brutality one is the answer. From the technical point of view Leading Vision is pretty much flawless, and it’s a highly enjoyable record because of that, and vocalist Guillaume Martinot carries the album exceptional well with a great vocal performance, but they seem to have sacrificed most of the brutality I expect from death metal for that perfect technicality that they exhibit. The music is still very recognisable as death metal but the release just seems to lack any sort of intensity to it, and the absence of that is felt greatly. On one hand this album is great for, say, a progressive metal fan, but on the other I can well imagine a death metal fan feeling a bit cold about the album.

I do enjoy Leading Vision a lot all the same, but it’s as a general metal fan, not necessarily as a death metal fan. For a death metal album, I found this one an extremely easy listen, which is not something I say about many death metal releases, as most require me to give them a few listens to really get into. Those that don’t are usually masterpieces of the genre, such as Obscura’s Omnivium or Augury’s Concealed. Sadly just because I got into it faster than is normal for me, Gorod’s Leading Vision doesn’t really stand up to those tech/prog death albums as far as I’m concerned, although this is certainly a solid release in its own right, but I can’t escape the feeling that if they’d hit all three of those nails without ending up in bandages then Leading Vision actually could have been up there with the best of the best. Still, this is a solid and professional sounding album, and Gorod still deserves a praiseworthy score for this effort, especially for the gem of a closing track, Hidden Genocide. The material is consistent throughout, but this track is the true gem of the release. It’s certainly a case of saving the best for last.

In summary although I feel that ultimately Leading Vision can only be rated positively, I’d like to reiterate that it does leave me with mixed feelings, which is why I’d advise death metal fans in particular to approach this one with some caution. Not total caution you understand, but just a little bit. I enjoyed this one because I’m a big progressive metal fan; those not so into their prog may not find it completely to their taste.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 8.0/10)

vagueclues Technical Death Metal is an genre that is usually very enjoyable, from my experience. I checked out this album after hearing their great 2009 release, though I would argue this record is even better..

As expected this is another solid album from French tech-deathsters Gorod. Reminiscent of Necrophagist, but perhaps not quite as over the top with the technicalities, which isn't a bad thing. The album is, as usual, very well produced, and the songs are considerably memorable, with all of the musicians playing here on top form.

I'd recommend this underrated album for fans of Technical Death Metal as it contains all the hallmarks of the genre but with some variety, keeping it interesting.