Black Bride

Man, what's with the production on this thing? I can't say that I expected Gyze to blow me away after their commendable, yet average debut Fascinating Violence, but here we are two years later with Black Bride, which seemingly came out of nowhere and just like its predecessor, features a very high level of instrumental proficiency alongside decisions of a decidedly more questionable character. Ettore Rigotti continues to make bank by producing what seems to be a near-endless stream of nigh-suffocatingly melodic power/death hybrids coming out of The Orient lately, but he really threw a wild pitch on this one. The mastering is a joke, and the entire experience sounds like it is being played underwater.

Musically, it would be impossible to argue that this material is far from elegant. Gyze's style remains just as vicious, remorseless, and at times wildly uneven as before. I made a humour-laden euphemism concerning the melodic power metal supergroup Energy Strike last year, attributing the music to candy that melts in your mouth. Certainly enjoyable on the approach path, but easily forgotten once the buzz wears off. Gyze is largely no different, but the fact that they dropped the clean vocals actually dampened the listening experience far more than I would have expected. I admit that I sort of pigeonholed the debut a bit, but I sort of miss that ancillary element here on Black Bride. Shuji's rollicking percussive torrent is both cyclic and exciting, underpinning the stellar leadwork, which is sporadic, wicked and amongst the best in this particular field. Those pining for virtuostic leads with that typical pseudo-neoclassical flair will find Black Bride a fine listen on the whole. The band never bloats these tunes to unnecessarily large lengths, and get to the point with poise and efficacy.

There are keyboards, but as usual for these guys they are relegated to a second-stringer position, content to accentuate and broaden as opposed to smother like so many other melodic death bands. There are a multitude of parallels that can be drawn to Starkill in this regard (although I far prefer Gyze) - insofar that both bands try to present more corporeal orchestration instead of blathering trance masturbation like Blood Stain Child, Silent Descent, etc. It works fairly well here because the level of musicianship is so high, but I can't help but shake the feeling that Gyze doesn't know when to shift gears sometimes. This is a band that is fun to just crank up and watch them go, but there is definitely an underlying sense of redundancy as you move from track to track. The band is dialed in to the point that a bomb can go off next to them without care or reaction.

But that said, Black Bride is still a great listen for fans of the style. The fact that it kept a veteran like myself engaged for multiple spins is testament to such. It is easy to ascertain this material as yet another Children of Bodom clone, but as the years wear on I only find a few of such bands holding up (like Skyfire). I put Gyze somewhere in the middle, as these are some of the most clinical and lethal speed/power riffs I have heard in recent memory, delivered with authenticity and without the enveloping and darkening cloud of Pro Tools influence. The guitar tone is actually insanely on point, it is just such a shame that the mastering does the overall impression such a disservice. Gyze themselves embody a logical expansion to the ranks of the style, and get a 45-degree thumbs up from yours truly. Standout tracks... Well " 明日への光" is certainly a beautiful and moving instrumental, with some fine acoustic and synth integration. "Julius" is loaded with more hooks than a tacklebox, and the bonus track "Gnosis" is actually the most progressive and intriguing tune of the bunch. Black Bride could have been a contender, but it can still bob and weave with the best of them when it is locked into the zone. Keep fighting the good fight, guys.