Review: “Fish In A Mountain” by Gorgonchrist

How does one achieve an authentic sound? For Gorgonchrist the decision to record their debut album “Fish In A Mountain” in a single day without click tracks, overdubs or studio trickery at The Noise Cabin in Huntingdon with James Burke (The Infernal Sea, Celestial Sanctuary) gives them exactly that. The trio have prior convictions in Shadowflag, Voltane and Lord Misery and so have the studio experience to make it happen safe in the knowledge that their sound, a caustic blend of raw Crust Punk, Black Metal and Grindcore with an unhealthily black sense of humour and sense of irreverence is perfectly suited to doing so…

…that description of the bands sound also tells you that Gorgonchrist are going to be delivering an album of poison dwarf sized cuts laced with a razor sharp battery acid wit, the audio equivalent of throwing shotgun cartridges in the fire and then running like hell. Opening cut “Fellowship of The Christ” sets the tone with just shy of two minutes of chanted idol worship in search of a fist pumping crowd, a primitive riff leaving a pair of vocalists sounding like deformed Goblins dribbling after a few too many lines. The sense of humour behind this abomination comes into play with “Pedos Have Small Hands“, a filthy piece of unhinged nonsense that is surprisingly catchy despite sounding like the band are playing live off the floor in a basement torture chamber hell, surrounded by victims chained up and forced to endure their practices. Changing their angle of attack “Abduction By Candlelight” dials into early tape traded Scandinavian Black Metal with a throat shredding vocal performance and sinister guitars aided and abetted by jackhammer footwork.  A near six minute monster permeated by moments of Motorhead like riffs it perhaps shows just how close they were to Venom before the hilariously titled “Dick Pic Graveyard” rampages through the parade, setting fire to everything it touches. Despite the lack of a click track the drums are a lot less volatile than you might think with all the power of a live performance and to be honest, you might be too distracted screaming along with the chorus of this one from the first play to notice. “Questions From A Victorian Mortuary Pt 2” begs the question what happened to part #1 ? before 70 seconds of wailing banshee moaning unpleasant vocals…

…where were we? Oh yes. “The Coldness of Night” begins the second half of the record with a few melancholic riffs before sprinting through classic Black Metal stylings without a care in the world. It’s hard to tell if the band are taking the piss out of the perceived pretentiousness of the genre with this one, it’s repeating lyric having a mesmerising hypnotic quality to go along with the fun if a little primitive riffage. That being said “Abubbleabbath” is as hilarious as its accompanying music video, an acid bath of turbulent audio violence that leaves no stone unturned in its cleansing ritual, identifying itself as the root cause of tinnitus in later life. You had an ear wax problem? Not after listening to this. “Questions From A Victorian Mortuary Pt 3” has a live introduction before picking up the wailing that began in part #2 in disturbing fashion. Driving down the darkness with an all out blast attack, the band wrapping up 77 seconds of unhinged behaviour and metaphorically asking you if you want fries with that. Intriguingly perhaps the album title track “Fish In A Mountain” is another serious slab of Black Metal and if it had lyrics that weren’t bizarre then it could probably be treated as such by genre purists. Instead you simply can’t help crack a beaming shit eating grin at the pure unadulterated insanity of it all… and then there is the rampaging crust punk of “Lonely Wanker” [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Fellowship of The Christ
2. Pedos Have Small Hands
3. Abduction By Candlelight
4. Dick Pic Graveyard
5. Questions From A Victorian Mortuary Pt 2
6. The Coldness of Night
7. Abubbleabbath
8. Questions From A Victorian Mortuary Pt 3
9. Fish In A Mountain
10. Lonely Wanker

“Fish In A Mountain” by Gorgonchrist is out 10th March 2023