Review: “Laborious” by Gangora

“This EP was recorded a long time ago and sat around collecting dust unfortunately. Please enjoy and feel free to share“. Created by guitarist Rob Marton (No One Knows What the Dead Think, ex-Discordance Axis) and bassist vocalist Chris Gennaro (Grone, ex-Suiciety), “Laborious” is the debut offering from a project they’re calling Gangora. Hailing from East Brunswick, New Jersey the pair are making Deathgrind, literally a fusion of Death Metal and Grindcore.

As you might expect from music of the genre, the result is pulverizing; the drums sound mechanical and programmed a driving force that gives the project an unexpected metronomic industrial edge akin to JumpMan or Zebadiah Crowe. The vocals are caustic, though there is space for spoken word moments; the music is primitive and dark, the soundscape to a the underbelly of society in Blade Runner or Judge Dredd. “Evacuation” sounds like a synth free Fear Factory demo from 1998, brutal riffs and indirect vocal aggression with a certain amount of storytelling in the lyrics. The influences of bands like Godflesh are heard on “Poison Pear“, the tempo shifts keeping things on a knife edge with no space for air, the slower atmospheric introduction the calm before slab after concrete slab of riffs, while the Gennaro essentially talks of the temptation of Adam to bite the poison apple offered by Eve. “Always Clockwise” offers more groove with some sinister moments while it’s gargantuan blast beat segments would only be matched by Gene Hoglan should they need to be performed live, the raw programmed nature of the drum sound making perfect sense in the context of the overall sound that Gangora have created for us to enjoy. The vocals are harsh but you can hear every single word, which makes for a different listen to a number of bands of this genre, giving you something else to focus on. Artillery shell bombardment is the order of “The Last Thing I Ever Wanted” which offers the rhythmic pounding of war drums as Gennaro calls out someone who has crossed him. Slowing things down for with a dirgy tone of echo and atmosphere in closer “You are the Product” sets it apart as a droner with a science fiction overtone that sounds like it belongs on a low budget apocalyptic wasteland feature film. Dark and foreboding if you’re a b-movie junkie then Gangora have what you need to wake up to [7/10]

Track listing

1. A Warm Body for the Virus
2. Evacuation
3. Poison Pear
4. Always Clockwise
5. The Last Thing I Ever Wanted
6. You are the Product

“Laborious” by Gangora is out now and available over at bandcamp