Label: Morbid Records
Release date: November 26th, 2001
Before I start to write anything else, I need to say thanks a lot and at the same time many sorry to Jean-Francois. I got a copy of this CD from him, who I have known since ages, yet from that era he was a member of D.A.B. Now he’s a Gurkkhas’ vocalist, by the way. And to be honest, I’d write this review much faster, but due to some problems I don’t wanna talk about here (it’s not the right place to do shits like that and besides, I deeply doubt anybody would like to read about this), I do it with really huge delay. That’s why I wrote that I have to say sorry to him! I know my problem was more or less objective, but anyway. However, “A Life of Suffering” is the ensemble’s third album we can call the best of or just a compilation one – your choice. Well, in my opinion both terms aren’t very accurate here. I mean, all songs were rerecorded in LBAB studios, owned by living legends of French, and in my world not only French, Metal scene, Stephane Buriez of Loudblast. But hell with what we’ll call this stuff!
The only important thing here is it contains twelve brutal tracks. Four of them are taken from the debut full-length ”Engraved in Blood, Flesh and and Souls”; rest you can find on the second album of our metal brothers from France. And I think here I could end up my scribble as well. But, how strange it can sound to people who know me, I’m a professional and I know I need to describe, even in my twisted way, which says something only to freaks like me, music we’re able to listen to here. But first of all, I say that’s a really brilliant idea guys released (by Great Dane Recs., July 12th last year) it just like that. I mean, they were in a coma for two decades and it means probably most of you have never heard their creativity and even a word about themselves before. And it actually doesn’t matter if you’re a huge or, let’s call it, average fan, who has no idea about some “smaller” bands. Twenty years isn’t a blink of an eye and, what’s natural, some of you may have shit in your pants then – literally or figuratively, because that’s impossible to hide that to metal you have to grow up. Another thing is Gurkkhas existed only four years and is comming from not too popular, for several reasons, on metal map of Europe.
When it takes music itself, I already wrote it’s brutal, so you probably already know what sub-genre of our beloved music you’ll find on this CD. But since death metal is a very general term, then I think it’d be even better if you stay with me a little bit. “A Life of Suffering” is a thing especially for folk who like a mix of brutality, in the middle or even quite slow, as on death metal, tempos mostly, and advanced technic. This advanced technique is of course about all instruments and even vocalization as well. On one hand, we’re able to listen to typic old school growling, but at the same time with, let’s call it, several faces. Well, it just can’t be the other way, because of the common music character. It’s a twisted one, where changes of broken riffs are often, you have quite a lot of guitar tricks and so on. The same thing is about drumming, by the way. Nicholas doesn’t play the same way too long, there’s many shorter or longer passages, huge participation of cymbals (what’s, as those who know me at least a little, something I love). And I somehow can’t find some well-known ensembles I could associate it to. I mean, that’s surely some kind of mix of American, Swedish and Dutch style. The strongest are influences of the first one I mentioned. If I should tell you what ensemble it can be associated with, then I’d mention creators of ”Trading Pieces”, ”Blasphemy Made Flesh” or ”Effigy of the Forgotten”. Of course, the creativity of Lannion’s residents has its own character and even if I didn’t know it, I’d guess they’re coming from France.
In the presskit I read a sentence that said ”Life of Suffering” is a must-have album for every fan of brutal death metal. Yeah, I know bands always use such phrases in press-kits or on, only people who’ve been into the underground for a really long time will know what I’m talking about, on flyers. But this time that’s not only a sentence designed to encourage you to buy the item. This time it’s the most honest truth!So, what are you still waiting for?
