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Once, I didn't like Metalcore, I thought it was just noise. But I was naive, a rookie, lacking the classics of the '90s, especially the terrifying Integrity. Since then, the genre has evolved in different directions, and it’s nice to see it kept alive and well by bands like Knocked Loose and Nails. Gulch, however, is no longer with us; they lasted only six years, like a true punk band, but they've undoubtedly made their mark. Metalcore needs bands like that, the sausage sandwich type, who play among their fervent fans, inciting them to wreck the place with intense riffs. Genuine people who don’t beat around the bush.
Released in 2020, Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress is their only full-length album, a less than twenty-minute bomb more concentrated than smoking sulfuric acid. Abandoning Death metal influences, Gulch unleashes uncompromising impactful Metalcore; the opener explodes in your face, the breakdowns organize a real slap-fest until your cheeks lose count, while Cries of Pleasure starts with a Black metal riff leading to a fantastic rhythm change—stuff as exquisite as a seafood risotto. However, my favorite is Fucking Towards Salvation; I can easily imagine two porn stars going at it until they have a mystical crisis to save their damned soul! And here someone might excuse my slaughterhouse language...
The album doesn't miss a beat and reaches the concluding and almost reflective Sin in my Heart, a cover of the legendary Siouxsie and her Banshees... and here, as someone might say, I ask you to join your hands and take a minute of silence, which will last five seconds because you'll get bored before!
In the end, someone throws a fire extinguisher against a window.
Gulch was a comet in the Metalcore sky, and they've left us this small wicked gem; luckily, the sausage and bread bands will never run out.
Until next time.
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