GOZU ‘Revival’ Album Review.

Words El Jefe.

Gozu. I’m guessing this is Japanese for “hardhitting stoner four-piece from Boston”. Flashy guitars, hyperactive drumming, thunderous bassplaying and a booming powerhouse vocalist to cap it all off is what we’re dealing. The songs are strong, and awesomely gritty too.

Marc Gaffney’s supreme vocal prowess hints at Ian Astbury and occasionally Chris Cornell and are both soulful and rockin’. Musically, they display alot of originality with lotsa chunk and some well balanced with melody too. Doug Sherman is a riffmaster when he gets his paws on his guitar, and more than ably backed up by the rhythm section comprised of Joe Grotto on bass and Mike Hubbard on drums.

On Revival, Gozu drop the clutch and hit the road fast. ‘Nature Boy’, an angular, riff-driven song leaves no doubt about the intentions of this band. It’s all about ball-tearing monsters, and guitar fireworks, but they also have a deft touch for melody too. The heavy comes thick and fast for the first few tracks, with ‘Lorenzo Llamas’ being one of my personal faves.

By the time ‘By Mennen’ comes around, these guys have decided to take a brand spanking new approach to doom and the tune finishes with a 45 second acapella burst which also serves as a tribute to the aforementioned vocal talent.

‘Dee Dee McCall’, an ode to the fictitious detective sees a return to the riff-heavy style for the run home, and is driven by some brutal machine-gun like drumming.

Gozu are a heavy-duty bunch of motherfuckers. Deep-rooted and powerful tunes backed up by some really cool musicianship. They play with the riffs with ease, and aren’t afraid to mess with the recipe. The end result is a cool and heavy stoner slab that should fit nicely in between Orange Goblin and Clutch.

Gozu – Revival is OUT NOW through Ripple Music HERE.
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