Gigantic Brain - World

This is a horribly late review considering how much I listen to this album...

Gigantic Brain made an impact on the underground grind scene with the mammoth Invasion Discography, and after taking a break he spent a couple of years working on this new project. And by 'new' I really mean it, as this is indeed very different and the Brain took his style in a new direction which focused less on BLAST BEAT CYBER NOISES GURGLING AND INWARD SCREAMS (don't get me wrong, I do love grindcore, especially Gigantic Brain) and had a fresh new ambient touch. This sound was touched upon in the Discography in songs like 'Grizzly Impalement, One by One' and 'My Aftermath', and I thought they mixed with the grind well, so I was happy to see more of it in World, and there is a lot. You will only find about 4 or 5 grind-only songs on this 18-track album, so grindcore purists should probably avoid this.

Many of tracks in fact use only ambient sound, such as 'Bacteria', and are 3 or so minute long tracks of long, sad notes which gives a much more melancholy tone to the album, as if it is trying to make the listener feel like a helpless watcher of the earth's demise, unable to help the feeble human race as it plunges inevitably to its self-destruction. That's not to say the drum-machine has been thrown out the window, extreme blasts of chaotic noise are still featured, with or without vocals, and sometimes even mixed with the ambiance, eg 'The God in the Flames' - arguably one of the best songs on the album. In my opinion this works incredibly well and is Gigantic Brain's sweet spot; I love his grind, I love his brutal vocals, but I love the way he finds a balance between the harshest music possible and his softest.

If I were to find any weak spots in the album, I would say there are a couple of points where you could definitely do with a but more lively sound, metal or not. For example, 'Debris' and 'We Come Together in a Hell' have a beautiful feel to them and add to the apocalyptic/alien life concept, but not only do they sound a little too similar but they also both last at least two minutes longer than they need to. I don't want the ambient sound to go, I just think it could have been used a little more effectively in some tracks.

Apart from that minor point, World is one of the most memorable albums of my lifetime, and would recommend to any metal fans, if only to open their eyes to what can be done without the usual 4/5 band members, riffs, vocals and guitar solo. It contains some of what I believe is the most diverse and creative metal out there, despite John having not a great deal of dexterity with a guitar or a real drum set; this is self-expression at its best.