ALBUM REVIEW: Satan Etc. – Gurt

It’s been five long years since UK sludge monsters GURT released an album and a lot has happened in that time, but while the world has changed in so many ways since then the band have stayed true to their modus operandi of killer riffs and grooves delivered in a tongue in cheek style. Their latest album Satan Etc. follows up the well-received Bongs Of Praise and it sees the party doomsters still cranking out the riffs while getting more aggressive in the process. The results are more than impressive from start to finish and it has to be said that these songs will kill in a live environment.

The jagged riffs of The Most Dying Way To Die (it’s great to see that GURT haven’t lost their knack for memorable song titles, of which there are plenty on this album) kick things off and from then on in Satan Etc. becomes something of a new beginning for GURT. They don’t mess about in introducing you to their brave new world, and each song takes you further and further into where the band have been and where they are going. The groove-laden misanthropy of lead single Knife Fever crashes into the insanely discordant sludge of In For A Penny, In For A Pounding then as quickly as you know it, the pounding Appetite For Construction takes things up another notch with its heavy and disoriented grooves and it is great to hear the band getting so hostile on this record.

Doi Of The Doid and Ennui Go follow and both show GURT doing what they do best but even heavier this time around, before Exit As You Enter, Sandworm Fleshlight and the final triumphant stomp of Electric Brown conclude the album in fine style with a smorgasbord of what makes GURT such a great band: killer riffs upon killer riffs upon killer riffs and of course, the gloriously unharmonic and unhinged vocals of Gareth Kelly. These unholy vocals sit alongside the riffs aplenty courtesy of guitarist Rich Williams, while the two-headed groove monster that is the GURT rhythm section in bassist David Blakemore and drummer Bill Jacobs sound better than ever with their head-pounding sonic assault.

Satan Etc. is a great album and a welcome return for GURT. It sounds like the party is continuing for the band for sure, only this time there is a definite air of menace and it sounds like it could all kick off at any given moment.

Rating: 8/10

Satan Etc. is set for release on June 7th via When Planets Collide.

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