Gadget
The Funeral March

Hailing from Gävle, in chilly Sweden, the Gadget are a significant force in today's Grindcore scene.

Labeled by many as the heirs of the lamented Nasum, these four guys play a very fast and unique Grind, at times infused with industrial and other times with doom influences, and more; they recently released a split with the Americans Phobia under Relapse Records as well as the album I will talk about in this review.

The record is titled The Funeral March, it's their second album and was released in 2006 after Remote from 2004. It consists of 17 extremely fast tracks, some more, some less, almost all under the two-and-a-half-minute mark. A violent and wicked unstoppable sonic onslaught. But what makes this album distinctive compared to the myriad of today's Grind productions? What are the strong points of this album?

1) The use of sick and frantic melodies, that inserted into the microstructures of these songs engage the listener in a fierce, back-breaking headbanging. Let's be clear, these are not cheesy and syrupy melodies, but badass and wicked! The kind that, if you listen to them when you're particularly pissed off, ignite a fire within you, a fire filled with grit and the desire to crush someone's skull with your bare hands (lol, did I make my point?). Take the first track "Choked", or the following "Requiem" and "Let The Mayhem Begin", three solid hits to the teeth.

2) The doomy interludes. Songs like "Everyday Ritual", soaked with wartime samplings, or "Tingens Förbanneise" break the furious pace of the album and sometimes bring it to a descending climax of desolation and destruction; perfectly crafted and curated interventions.

3) The riffing! Hell yes! The guitars are chainsaws, extremely fast and brutal, obsessive and tireless making Gadget's offering an indestructible and unstoppable Panzer. And not only... every now and then these big bastards sneak in some Black Metal riffs here and there, infernal and irresistible, as if to say: "what the hell do you want, we are Swedish. Don't you think sometimes we want to play like Marduk or Dissection?" Jokes aside, the work of the two guitarists is very well-structured.

4) The production and musicians' technique. Hardcore/Grind/Death textures supported by prominent drumming and delivered by a singer who alternates guttural voice with higher tones, offer a very inspired work in which whether the album is taken as a whole or the tracks are listened to individually, we can clearly grasp the candor and directness of this modern Grindcore assault.

These four elements make The Funeral March a good example of pure and ingenious personality, amidst the often tedious chaos (with several exceptions) of modern Grindcore. Get it if you like the aforementioned genre and if you love originality applied to it.