www.needleinthegroove.co.uk: GAST - "Morkret Kallar" Album Review

Tuesday 22 January 2019

GAST - "Morkret Kallar" Album Review

Swedish Doom Metallers Gast, release their debut album Morkret Kallar. This will undoubtably have you all immersed in pure darkness. Gast are as pure evil as they are Swedish. It’s ferocious from the off with ‘Distans’. Intense, evil, dark, brooding. Typical Doom metal at it’s finest.

‘Avgrund’ is more of the same. Starting nice and quietly. But it isn’t long before the Doom hits us again in full force. ‘Under Satans Vingar’ is brutal from chord one. It’s intensity makes this song what it is. Relentless speed thrash in every sense. Only breaking temporarily for a mid-track breather. There’s some great speed changes here and a lot more structure to this track. Brilliant stuff!!

‘Transcendens’ treats us to peaceful, acoustic guitar. And it comes at the right time, exactly at the midway point of the album. It’s a beautiful piece, showing how diverse Gast can be. Bravo for taking such a risk and it’s totally paid off. ‘Dar Livet Kvavs’ takes us back onto our Doom journey with another fierce onslaught. Pounding, relentless drums which pierce right through the soul.

‘Morgonstjarna’ is more of a slower, intense number. Closer ‘Sorgens Skugga’ finishes this rather short debut album off just nicely. It’s another onslaught of dark, black, angry Doom metal. Punishing from the beginning, but slowing down nicely towards the end, like a plane landing.

Gast have landed. Buy it.

Score 9/10

Reviewed by Sty

Track listing:

1. Distans
2. Avgrund
3. Under Satans Vingar
4. Transcendens
5. Dar Livet Kvavs
6. Morgonstjarna
7. Sorgens Skugga

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ABOUT ME

I was brought up on my dad's record collection of rock 'n' roll greats. He was a Teddy Boy and had all the gear (and hair) - drain pipe trousers, jacket, crepe shoes. We listened to Elvis, Bill Hailey, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Fats Domino, Tommy Steel, and the big names from the sixties such as Dave Clark Five, Wayne Fontana, Dave Dee (etc.,). This music was the kind that you would listen to to rebel against and annoy your parents; it was rough, wild, and the Ted's had a reputation.

So, fast forward to the end of the 70's. I was about 12 when it was the thing to choose your musical stance. It had to be a good choice as there was no going back. You had to be a mod, or a rocker back around 1980. I had a mate (still do, just the one mind) and he was an influence with regards to my musical tastes (and we still go gigging together to this day), and what with my dad's influence I chose the rocker route. I've never looked back. We (me and dad) both started a musical journey where our parents hated what we listened to! In fact, being a teenager in the mid 50s, it wasn't any different to being a teenager in the late 70's/early 80's with regards to rebellion. Although in my era, you couldnt get rickets.

I was fed strictly on a cassette diet of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Rush and Rainbow. From there it expanded into melodic rock and hair metal - Journey, Foreigner, Stryper, Ratt, Motley Crue, and Dokken. And Prog!

I absorbed all I could. I was a human sponge. The internet was eons away, so I got my fix via a wonderful weekly paper called 'Sounds.' It covered a lot of genres, but they specialised in Rock! I read it every week without fail for about three years. I loved the way their reporters wrote articles. It was like they were talking directly to me. It's how I try to do the same today. When it stopped, I moved with the crowd and subscribed to 'Kerrang!' A lot of the 'Sounds' crew moved across, and it felt like home. I wanted to know more about what was happening over in the U.S. So I subscribed to 'Hit Parader' - it was shite really, the articles weren't great, but the pictures were good. Plus I could follow the Dokken feud between Don and George. Thirty odd years later, they still hate each other! Today, its a diet of 'Classic Rock' Mag, sometimes 'Prog Mag', 'Fireworks' and 'Planet Rock' mag.

My enjoyment of this music has never waned. I see the same people time and again and its a great community. I try to get to as many gigs as I can still as its much better than sitting on your arse reviewing. I hope you enjoy the blog!

Paul Chesworth