Band:	Gorod
Album:	Process Of A New Decline
Style:	Technical death metal
Release date:	June 01, 2009
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Disavow Your God
02. Programmers Of Decline
03. Diverted Logic
04. Rebirth Of Senses
05. The Path
06. Splinters Of Life
07. Guilty Of Dispersal
08. Gilded Cage
09. A Common Hope
10. Watershed
11. Almighty's Murderer
12. Chronicles From The Stone Age [live] [bonus]
13. Eternal Messiah [live] [bonus]
14. A Common Hope [live] [bonus]
15. Almighty's Murderer [live] [bonus]

This is already a great year for technical death metal. Obscura, Centaurus-A, Suffocation... Nevertheless, it seems like France's Gorod simply outplays all of these bands and Process Of A New Decline so far sets the high water mark for this little sub-genre in the year 2009.

Don't get me wrong, Process Of A New Decline still features many of the pitfalls associated with technical metal - guitar solos are often gratuitous and complex structures seem to exist for no other reason than to show off how many hours the instrumentalists have spent playing with their own instruments instead of getting laid. Case in point - "Watershed" certainly reminds me of Opeth - not in musical style, but in how technical and progressive passages are expertly used to make a conceptual song that goes precisely nowhere. Yes, it all sounds impressive but it is gratuitous and is like a kind of musical workout, that like all music we hear while working out - leaves our memory as soon as it is over.

Luckily, such moments are an overwhelming minority on this album. Far more often, Gorod either rips through supremely catchy harmonized melodic riffs or concentrates fully on unadulterated brutality, with no compromise at all. Examples of the former, namely "Programmers Of Decline", "The Path" and "A Common Hope" are instant classics, believe me - they will leave your imaginary air-strings covered with your own imaginary air-blood. The remaining tracks are not much worse and the whole album is just one neat little moment and riff after another. The clear yet meaty production and particularly the sick, raspy growls also adds to the general high level of achievement of this album, while keeping it firmly within the realm of truly extreme music.

One could say that a band like Obscura has more character; however, Gorod simply doesn't need it. This is an album that simply contains killer music that speaks for itself with no need for gimmicks, hype or comparisons to rival bands. Process Of A New Decline is not perfect but it is certainly close.