Sun Of Gaia - Corrode

Tracklist:-

1. Corrode

2. Endless Wake

3. The Cold

4. Haunted Eyes

5. Blinding Light

6. And The Clouds Cry

Writer's block is the bane of my life. I have loads of bands and records I want to write about, but often it's hard to put down what I'd like to say. That very thing struck as I was hitting play of the debut EP from Australian progressive death metal band Sun Of Gaia. Having done a little research I can see that Corrode is their first official release (not that hard to establish I know) and that they only formed earlier this year. Oh and they're gonna be sharing the stage with King Parrot at The New Dead 7 metal festival in Adelaide this September. It looks like a great festival and is all ages too! I'll throw a link up to it later on in this post.

Getting the chance to hear creative bands from the other side of the globe is always exciting for me and Sun Of Gaia is another name that I can proudly say I’ve featured here. EP opener Corrode is a short and precise blast that demonstrates exactly what they’re about, with rousing instrumentation and deep growls. Endless Wake swiftly follows with a whole heap of modern technical flair. Sun Of Gaia steers clear of the obvious djent sound and actually stands up alongside metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage, in the riff department especially. That’s not the only weapon in their arsenal though, as they also whip out jazz guitar and inspired bass-noodling that splits them apart from the masses. There’s an obvious modern slant to the production on Corrode, but as The Cold begins there’s also a subtle murkiness amongst the low-end that’s quite warming. The verse that follows is full-on and the metallic refrains are worth waiting for. They manage to fit a lot into just over four minutes, with dual screams and gloomy atmospherics, as well as a solo of epic proportions. Haunted Eyes is a little more mid-paced in places, not that you’d really notice. It contains some nice straightforward metal elements within it’s layers of technicality too. Towering post-metal atmosphere spreads itself over Blinding Light and the guitars rule all. There’s something symphonic about it as well, with more than a hint of black metal. It’s eerily melodic and even slightly bombastic. That orchestral side breathes light into Sun Of Gaia’s music and the song as a whole shows the real breadth of their musical progression. Talking of progression and strings, EP closer And The Clouds Cry stretches to over eight-minutes. It happens to be the band’s most caustic track with a searing intensity that creeps up on you. Intense is probably the best word to describe Corrode. It carries you through various shades of extreme metal yet it keeps you close, cradling your emotions instead of ripping them to shreds. Sun Of Gaia should certainly be bigger thanks to this performance. I’m looking forward to more music from them in the future. 

You can stream Corrode and buy it in both CD and digital formats from Sun Of Gaia's bandcamp page below:-

Sun Of Gaia Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sunofgaia/

Update: In my haste to get this review published last night, I forgot to throw up a link for The New Dead Metalfest 7 that Sun Of Gaia will be appearing at in September. If you're in Adelaide around that time, you should see them alongside King Parrot, Disentomb and a whole host of other bands - https://www.facebook.com/thenewdead/home