Gruel

Don't be surprised, this band is as unknown as it is mysterious. Band members are listed in the inlay and their label seems to have bit the dust since. A tape, three tracks … and nothing more. Astoundingly, a review appears on the Metal Archives and it praises Gruel considerably; a 100 point score only points in such direction. Is this obscure piece of old-school death metal really a shiny little gem that has remained unrecognized on a broader scale so far? Let us see.

As mentioned before, 'Gruel' do not play modern music, even though the production of their art is. The music comes generally with a lot of power and the whole set of elements merges together quite nicely. Therefore, at least some amount of professionalism shines through the dense mist of obscurity.

To describe the performance as 'consistent' – in the sense of a narrow and coherent approach – would reduce the music on this tape to an unnecessary degree. There are breaks, there are longer guitar passages, various types of vocals, blast parts and solos. Each of these appear more or less in every of the three compositions. Some name dropping: 'Bolt Thrower' (less complex and faster with a different emphasis), 'Grave' (without the keyboards) and add some other bands from the Swedish old-school death metal scene like 'Nihilist'… to get an impression. 'Gruel' are heavy but avoid becoming too much of cliché in terms of the music. They like to take back the dynamics in the music and venture into slower realms again and again. Yet, while this works quite well in 'Awaiting the Massacre', the opener 'Corporeal Flesh Consume' is less convincing. The energy is simply unable to unfold itself and remains stuck at a certain level … which sounds artificial. Anyway, as the band was able to present a better performance in the last track, the listener is left with two good pieces and one rather dull one.

Whoever did this demo had some skill; not only in composing death metal but also in getting the sound done right. This is too professional for a young band that spread their first release on a small level in low amount of copies. One question remains then: what is the story behind this tape?

In the meantime, it is recommended to you, because it is actually quite good and well crafted.

Based on a review originally written for ‘A dead spot of light (Number 15)’:
http://www.archive.org/details/ADeadSpotOfLight...Number15

This demo was sent to me by a friend to trades tapes. I never heard of the band at all before that point. From the very start of the tape, I found myself unable to believe that this was: 1. the only thing this band had released 2. that a tape from such a small label would sound this good, and 3. that any demo tape would sound so professional.

Each track is its own brutal death metal assault. Keeping things interesting, they jump between slow, mid-paced, and super-fast riffs, none of which sacrifice any of their brutality at any point. The vocals very well executed, with very monstrous growls and demonic shrieks utilized throughout the tape.

While all that is nice, what really surprised me is how catchy the riffs are on the release. They are the kind of riffs that stick in your head from the very first listen, and leave a very lasting impression. Again, it is important that none of the catchy riffs diminish any of the brutality.

All in all, a must have, though hard to acquire, piece of masterful death metal. However, seeing as it has been 4 years since this tape saw release and the band is still listed as active, I would hope that perhaps somewhere in the coldest depths of Sweden, these under-rated metal geniuses are working hard on new material, perhaps even a full-length. Alas, probably all just wishful thinking.