Welcome to Throwback Thursday! This is the place where we get to indulge in nostalgia and wax poetic about excellent metal of years past. Today's 80th TBT brings us yet another gemerald from the glowing depths of the metal music quarry. Stormlord's 2004 release The Gorgon Cult is a fantastic album, but as is the fate of many albums that we see here on TBT, it is another excellent metal record that somehow didn't garner enough attention during it's heyday. The Gorgon Cult is a beautiful, searing marriage of death and melody all wrapped up in a beautiful green, white, and red bow, tied on top of a eagle whose only mission is to soar over majestic clifftops. Hold on to your epic butts, because Stormlord deliver a tightly packed, surprising record with The Gorgon Cult.
STORMLORD'S THE GORGON CULT
Release Date: 2004
Record Label: Scarlet Records
In case you've been missing it, Stormlord has had a 20-year career that includes 6 full-length records – including their newest effort Far from earlier in 2019. These Italian metal-ers classify themselves as "extreme epic metal", and one can hardly argue that point when you hear The Gorgon Cult's scorching album opener "Dance of Hecate":
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szi-5K-r47U][/youtube]
Strong, forward-mixed keyboard conjures a discordant sound that fans of Dimmu Borgir will enjoy. That, combined with exploring, melodic dual-guitar, "Dance of Hecate" is symphonic, black, and death metal all rolled into one. At first listen, it seems as if almost too much is going on and that the instruments compete with one another. However, the momentum of the song is structured by smart emphasis on key elements at the right time, which makes the track feel like waves of a sonic sandstorm to the ears.
There is a lot to unpack in each song across The Gorgon Cult. What could have been a one-note album finds dimension in unexpected moments like in the title song "The Gorgon Cult":
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbit3Gw4a3E][/youtube]
Crunchy, doomy riffs bring black metal to life in this darker-toned song. Across the album, the drumming is consistently nuts, delivering not only signature black metal blast beats but looser moments in which the riffs have a chance to breathe and invite a striking captivation.
According to Stormlord's bio page, the band "Later this year [2004], the band gained attention after the release of the “Under The Boards” music video, which featured large amounts of blood and gore. The clip was banned from most TV channels but, once again, it gained popularity due to massive internet downloads and streaming." But it's 2019 and of course it's on YouTube:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qwkugwsA0Y][/youtube]
Ah, I love a good Llyod Kauffman reference. Tromeo and Juliet is obviously a non-subtle nod to the gut-churning style of the video. Oh, yeah, watch at your own risk. But now that you know that it's been banned, how can you not watch it? Don't say I didn't warn you. Eat lunch first.
For a slice of that melo-death/symphonic black (whatever you wanna call it) life you've been surely missing out on, try on The Gorgon Cult for something that actually a little new and a little different. The album is a solid piece of work that has not received the recognition it deserves for delivering on all-over quality song-building components.
