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Ganon – In The Dead Of Sleep The sound conjured by Detroit's Ganon in the opening moments of 'Lifting Skies' crashes over you like a tidal wave, then pulls you into the dark ocean of nothing. The fluidity of chaos is what it's all about with Ganon, so smooth is their transition from gentle harmonics to obliterating proto-doom. There's simply nothing to grab onto here, emotions shifting like the colours of dusk, finally turning an ashen gray to remind you that sometimes escapism is the only means of survival. Shades of Isis and Keelhaul are admittedly abundant, but where the formers want to wash its' soundscapes with a more bass-heavy tone, Ganon used three guitarists for this album, each slashing through the dense fog of Ganon's music with cascading scales and leaden riffs to create something truly original. Matt Debello has moved on since the recording of In The Dead Of Sleep, but the two remaining guitarists should be able to hold their own quite well. The rhythm section of Brian (drums) and Clark (bass) are well schooled in the minimalist stylings of Helmet and Neurosis, but use this appreciation to create a puslating heart beneath the weight of material such as 'Through Wires' and the vast 'It Speaks'. Ganon's debut closes with 'The Calm Of Unlight', which references everything from The Fucking Champs to Lull in its tumble through the dark. This is not music for the sunlit hours, but the thunderstrom and the quiet after, while observing the devastation. ***Daredevil Review: Acerbic Noise Development strikes again with the debut release by Michigan's Ganon an interesting and highly experimental group that are determined to take the soaring sounds of Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, etc. to the next level. While it is getting hard to sound original in this increasingly crowded genre, Ganon really deliver the goods with an album that definitely takes some great strides to differentiate themselves from the pack much in the vein that Generation of Vipers, Rosetta and Overmars have done with their latest releases. Ganon have got all the skills and elements necessary to make this type of sound work including sweeping acoustics and mellow sections, thundering riffs that walk a fine line between total doom and that whole post-hardcore/indie sound, killer drumming and dense rhythms and it is all topped off with a strep-throat vocalist who really adds some additional force to this collection of songs with his emotional and vicious screams. I'm really digging the interplay between the two guitarists here as they work together to create some of the best damn melodies and hooks I've heard in this style in quite sometime. They seamlessly weave in and out of their respective parts creating an awesome ebb and flow dynamic that really keeps these songs from losing your attention. The opening punch of "Lifting Skies" really takes you on a journey with almost 10 minutes of throbbing, emotional metal. The track mixes it up between crushing dirge-ridden riffs and pounding beats as the song builds up to several climaxes that range from white-knuckle, skull crushing metal/doom/drone to beautiful acoustic sections that just shimmer with organic melodies and sounds that don't sound forced or contrived. This track leads into the succinct and much more streamlined "Approach" which is the shortest track on the album and hits hard with pounding, melodic riffs and tightly delivered rhythms that don't wander around too far before droning into the massive "Through Wires" that starts off with ambient noise, tribal drumming and winding bass/guitar riffs before vocals enter the mix some three minutes into the track. The remaining two tracks are also sprawling epics that really dig themselves under your skin with epic sized hooks and gargantuan melodies and riffs that just never let up for a second. Even with only 5 tracks this disc is definitely a full-length crossing over the 40 minute mark and there isn't a wasted second in any of these tracks as the band come on strong at all points. The production is tight and extremely nuanced giving the twin guitar attack a fine tuned edge that just completely wraps around the listener with the rhythm section sounding equally balanced and the vocals are right up in the mix and are at the fore-front of the tempest. Ganon also balances out their mixture of sounds with some ambient sheen, samples and keyboard work that all help to enhance the absolutely massive nature of the songs. All in all this is a highly recommend piece of work for fans of Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, Rosetta, Intronaut, etc. These guys are definitely going down a familiar path but the way they put together their songs is incredibly unique and helps make them a big contender for top honors in this genre. Killer record, good work guys! ***Rebelx.org Review: It's been a long time since I was able to describe an album by a Detroit band as imposing, but that's just what In The Dead Of Sleep is. With bands like Human Wick Effect, The Nain Rouge, and Ganon, the hipster garage rock scene in the Motor City had better watch its back, or risk getting eaten alive. ***Crucial Blast Review: From the same label that brought us the bitchin' art-damaged thrashcore of Verse & Radiation last month comes this inaugural disc from indie-metal crushers Ganon. This is definitely heavy stuff, with huge tidal riffs building up and crashing down, twin guitar harmonies spiralling outward from volcanic dirgescapes, the heavy crushing passages positioned in the realm of burly post-metalcore alongside the likes of Neurosis,Isis,etc. But then there's also Ganon's melodic, almost indie rock-ish side, their brutal sludgy riffing often plated in major key hooks, and killer, spacey instrumental sections. The album opens with a blast of burly dirgey riffing and math-crush guitars and ferocious war bellows, all crushing angular post-metal like Neurosis meets Keelhaul, monstrous and apocalyptic sounding...but then the second track comes in with a slow paced melodic crunch that sounds to me like a metallized, sludgy version of pre-Green Mind Dinosaur Jr. Hell yeah. Theres alot of that on In The Dead Of Sleep, fusing really catchy hooks to crushing post-Neurosis art metal and wandering,hypnotic post-rock. The last song even closes out in an awesome wash of radio static and a fuzzy, blurred piano loop, suspended above some cavernous Lull-style cave drones. Fans of the new breed of post rock / metal hybrids (Isis, Conifer, Tides, Pelican, Mouth Of The Architect), the sludgy technicality of bands like Mastodon and Keelhaul, and the indie-sludge goodness of Floor and Torche need to get blasted by this album fast. Check out the artist's website: http://www.acerbicnoise.com Track List: 1. Lifting Skies 2. Approach 3. Through Wires 4. It Speaks 5. The Calm of Unlight Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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