KILLING GANDHI – Cinematic Parallels
- Posted on 10-10-2015
Danish quartet Killing Gandhi live for the classic Scandinavian melodic death metal movement on their debut album "Cinematic Parallels". Anyone who misses In Flames from their "Clayman" period back would be wise to dig into "The Lights Will Shine Forever", while the cyber-effects put "The Cannibal Course" into more of that Amaranthe orientation with deeper growls/ screams maintained throughout the whole song. Monster grooves and a wall of rhythm guitars crush your ears in the best way possible – ensuring maximum heavy impact.
5 "Trailer" segues weave in and out of the normal eleven full-length tracks – but I guarantee the precision guitar layering of Martin Arendal that supplements the steady power drumming from Rasmus Schmidt will make most believers in Killing Gandhi for sure. A lot of the lead work on "Leader of Losers" has that blitzkrieg feel of Slayer, but thrown through Metallica channels so as to not seem to off the rails. Even a semi-commercial number like "D-Minor Took My Life" may start off serene, but the double bass/ half-time groove cuts through the air and is sure to inspire numerous crowd surfing / wall of death situations as the band perform.
Vocalist Thorbjørn Jensen has a duality to his voice in terms of screams and growls – very clear but almost as if his throat is on fire. I applaud the decision for keeping the melodic side to the music, as there are plenty of bands who play the harsh verse/ clean chorus formula – and this set of musicians know how to keep things heavy without resorting to silly tactics to gain a wider fan base (although the computerized effects for closer "The Next Level" are very cool).
"Cinematic Parallels" is one of those dark horses that could be talked about years down the road- be sure to pick this up and know that Danish melodic death metal is just as strong as any other Swedish troop rolling out past or present.