Gomorrah - To The Depths EP

Release Date: September 2013 
Genre: Metal, Thrash, Death
Label: Unsigned
Number of Tracks: 6
Sounds Like: Lamb of God, Sepultura.

Overall Rating: 7.0/10

Unsigned Ohio-based metal act Gomorrah have recently released their 'To the Depths' EP, a mixture of riffs and aggression neatly distilled into 6 tracks that demonstrates the band's sound, which is reminiscent of a less melodic pre-crusade Trivium mixed with a vaguely Lamb of God flavour. This is not to say that To The Depths is derivative, far from it.

It starts as it means to go on, and the titular opening track does a good job of painting the picture for the rest of the experience. As opening tracks go this isn't a bad effort, the opening riff is satisfyingly heavy and sets up the screaming vocal style nicely. The track demonstrates a real knowledge of how songs of this genre are put together, and it culminates in a genuinely great instrumental break before quite literally ending where it began.

Track 2, 'Chapel of Stilled Voices' starts off slightly up-tempo before kicking into a killer riff and just runs from there. Fairly similar vocal styles to the previous track and this is what can be expected for the duration. All in all an energetic addition to the EP.

Tribulations highlights a slightly different track than the previous two, and it's a refreshing change. This track is relentlessly straightforward, and features some really nice harmony work towards the middle. This track is a particular highlight and it shows a band that has energy and potential.

  

In contrast, Tempest fails to leave as big an impression because, despite starting off well, there is a section about 1:20 into the track where things feel really disjointed and forced and it spoils the track a little bit. It feels clumsy compared to the excellent musicianship displayed throughout. It's not a complete spoiler however, and the song picks up again after this and we're hit with a killer instrumental break (a recurring theme in this album) before the track rounds off.

Tracks five and six provide a satisfying conclusion to the EP. Colossus, track 5, has a really interesting riff and really reflects what we've seen already. It's a good listen but the track that stands out is track 6, Beneath the Falling Sun. This song takes all the potential glimpsed in the previous five tracks and combines it wonderfully. It's a brilliant ending track, combining high-tempo riffing, excellent drumming and good structure, before it descends into the absolute highlight of the track. The acoustic section and the solo that accompanies it is truly a wonderful contrast to the way the song starts. The acoustic section drops away to some more serious soloing. We're greeted then with a slower riff before kicking back off into a up-scale instrumental break. This section of the song serves to highlight Gommorah's tightness and is genuinely impressive.

This is a solid EP, however, there are some flaws. The EP really lacks dynamic variance. It's relentless to listen to from start to end and it's a shame because individually the tracks are good, but one after another it's very hard to really appreciate as a whole. The strange disjointed section is another downside, and while this is a one-off it's still a flaw. The other major gripe of this EP is that it is not especially varied. That's fine, in a sense, but it's always nice to hear variety and I think that is one thing To The Depths lacks.

The verdict: To The Depths is an excellent insight into a talented band. While not perfect, it features some great musicianship. Based on what this EP represents, Gomorrah are going to make some truly excellent music in the future, and if you are local to them then it may well be worth going to see their shows. Keep your eye on this band.  

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