Guntmold – Blackened Infection
December 27th, 2023
Blackened Death Metal / Black Metal
Independently Released
Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland
Black metal has a tendency to emerge from the most unlikely of places, and Newfoundland and Labrador is certainly one such locale. Screaming out from the depths of the Burin Peninsula is Guntmold, a three piece outfit that emerged unto my radar last year with the release of their promising initial demos. Despite being from the tiny town of Saint Lawrence, Guntmold managed to find three people who were into the same brand of extreme metal to put a band together, an act which alone is impressive. What’s doubly impressive is that this first proper EP from the trio is actually quite good.
Consisting of three original songs and ending with a cover of the Mayhem classic “Chainsaw Gutsfuck”, Guntmold’s take on black metal is unique in a sense. The three songs on here sway back and forth between different styles, with the first track, “Skinwalkers”, exhibiting a more traditional black metal vibe with the almost-blast beats and the sinister, tremolo picked guitar riffs. The second song “The Sickness” is much more of a mid-tempo cut made of blackened punk riffs and drums which makes the track reminiscent of post punk, while “Munging” broaches blackened death metal territory in both the riffing and drumming.
The vocals from frontman Grim Draugr are appropriately vile, high pitched and wretched, sounding like they’re coming gurgling out of a dusty old corpse that’s been trapped in a tomb, scraping at the walls to get out. The riffs from Daniel Slaney and Gavin Young, while they may be quite repetitive and somewhat derivative at some points, are solid and appropriate for each song, taking clear inspiration from the black metal legends of old such as Darkthrone and the aforementioned Mayhem.
Where this EP loses me a bit is in the programmed drums. It’s obviously not always easy to find a real drummer who’s going to be super into the kind of music you’re making, especially in a small town, so I can’t come down on the band for that too hard. However, in the future I hope that the group can find themselves an actual drummer or shell out for a session drummer for their recordings. The programming on here is actually decent, and creative at points, but I can tell that it’s programmed, which is where it rubs me the wrong way.
Still, Guntmold have come out with an excellent first entry into their proper discography and that makes me excited to hear where they go to next. These guys have a great grasp on what makes black metal fucking awesome, but they’re just getting started. I think with more time and more releases under their belt they will eventually develop a sound that is more unique and even more raw, especially if they can get an actual blaster behind the drums.
Final Verdict: 3/5
Great
Favourite Tracks:
“The Sickness”
~ Akhenaten
HeavyNFLD 