Gory Blister - Skymorphosis
2006 Mascot Records

Track Listing:
1.  Process To Apocalypse (Intro)
2.  Asteroid
3.  Sailing To Achernar
4.  Skymorphosis
5.  Skin Legacy
6.  Blood Sweating Wall
7.  I Shall Hang Myself
8.  Quasars
9.  Black Canvas
10. The Missing Planet
11. Shader
12. Starfields
13. The Soul-Slitters
14. 1,000 Eyes

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Adry
Guitar:  Raff
Bass:  SyM
Drums:  Joe

Website:  www.goryblister.com

Shev's Rating:  A-
Overall Rating:  A-

Shev's Review:
Even though this Italian foursome have been putting out material since 1991, this is only their sophomore full-length to follow-up one of 1999's better releases, "Art Bleeds".  A refreshing aspect of "Art Bleeds" was their ability to offer a high-tech death metal sound in vein of Chuck Schuldiner's Death mixed with a little bit of thrash, but also offer some toned-down variation and melody to create a very memorable album.  "Skymorphosis" actually tends to stray a little farther from the formula with their inclusion of more thrash elements and overall artistic science fiction tone.  Needless to say, it is still quite obvious that these guys are highly influenced by Death, evidenced by their impeccable cover of "1,000 Eyes" off the album "Symbolic", so those looking for a roller coaster ride of top shelf technical death need not be turned away.

Adry on vocals offers up heaping amounts of mid/higher-end vocals and occasional clean bits, his screeching style nothing new to the more avant garde death metal bands from the 90's.  Guitar and bass easily hold the attention of anybody interested in the musical aspects of the genre with their utterly insane whirlwind of tempo changes and fretboard kung-fu.  Due to the general theme of the album, the songs may carry on a little too long for those into the purely aggressive nature of death metal, and may not offer enough memorable substance for the casual fans of thrash.  This can usually be countered by a few extra spins to help pick-up on more of Gory Blister's refined subtleties.  After all, they obviously take pride in the fact they are merely artists.

The weakest link to be had is Joe on drums, but overall we're talking about a mighty strong chain of musicians.  I suppose it would be better to describe Joe's drumming as "less strong"?  The fills range from functional to floored, the timing is as tight as one could hope for, and there's plenty of room to breathe...but the drumming can only integrate so much with a band so focused on guitarwork and lyrical themes before there is no more room for growth.  A minute long drum solo, while I have no doubt is entirely possible, would seem so intolerably out of place that it would only make sense to act as a strong backbone, albeit a decorative one with a sufficient amount of twists.

Highlights from the album include "Blood Sweating Wall", which is probably Gory Blister's all around best song to date..."I Shall Hang Myself", which is an interesting break in the middle of a sci-fi album..."Quasars", a chilling death metal tune about two fading stars saying goodbye...and "The Soul-Slitters" which is just drop dead brilliant.  The only song I find myself skipping over after repeated plays is "Black Canvas", which is every bit as bland as it is forgettable.  Overall, "Skymorphosis" has turned out to be one of the better albums of 2006, and hopefully fans of avant garde technical death and thrash will eventually take note.  Maybe some moderate success will influence these guys to release their third full-length in less than seven years time, too.
Shev's Rating:  A-

Discography (last updated 6.15.06):
Split By Greed demo - 1991
Hanging Down The Sound demo - 1993
Cognitive Sinergy EP - 1997
Art Bleeds - 1999
Skymorphosis - 2006