Album Review: "Age of the Fanatics" by Gutter Instinct

Age of the Fanatics

It's come to my attention that my taste in food and beverage might be a bit too narrow.

On a recent outing at Small Batch, there was literally nothing on the menu on that seemed remotely appealing once I read the entire description of the entree.

To the surprise of my companions, for the first time in my life, my dinner was going to be a Caesar salad just, as in nothing else.

What ended up happening is that our host ended up ordering several of their small plates and we shared them. The black bean tacos that put me off tasted so delightful.

The pot stickers that had the wrong meat in them were divine. In fact, nothing that went down my gullet was anything less than amazing, and that's not just the whiskey! A narrow vision is a terrible thing that's only going to cause problems. In fact, how many of us metal fans have not said that to a friend, family member, or co-worker...open minds change the world.

Gutter Instinct

Swedish Death Metal rarely makes me get out of my chair. Can't say that it's not something enjoyable, but it's definitely not my favorite and seeking it out...yeah, I never do that.

Of course, the greats, At The Gates, Arch Enemy, and some others have put out some fine music.

Spinning the first track on Gutter Instinct's debut album Age of the Fanatics did little to dissuade me, at least at first. In the high pressure world of semi-pro music reviews, decisions are made quickly.

As the track enveloped me, it was clear there's far more to this band than the simple cursory listen. Once the guitar solo hit, this band made sense. It was that oh yeah moment.

That solo was the ravings of an insane man after just escaping the asylum. It had everything, power, melody, and unpredictability. Insanity defined.

From there, more subtle details became apparent. The riffs were far more inventive than some of their death metal forebears. In a 4/4 Riff, there was a rest on third beat. The rest I'll leave for you to find, but there's my hint.

The demonic growls were expansive. Filling the tracks with anger and pain. From top to bottom, this album is built for heavy metal dominance.

For all of my gushing, let's restate something. This is a debut album. It's raw yet refined, angry yet sad, wild yet lucid.

Get on board now so you hipster the band wagon fans in three years.

Release: 5/27/16
Genre: Swedish Death Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
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