Search - Foetus :: Gash

Brilliantly dooming and doomed by brilliance.

Mr. G. Morrison | Newport Beach, CA | 03/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This may go down as the "hidden diamond" out of the Foetal canon. That is, this may ironicly end up being the album that everyone either forgot or ignored. This was recorded for the (heh!) "behemoth" Sony (Columbia) record company at the height of the most recent music industry band buying frenzy. Consequently between getting this major label deal and landing some broadcast projects, JGT managed to _finally_ get some advanced finances to make what could very well be the all-time slickest and shiniest-sounding (post) industrial record ever. (It's total night-and-day from his days with NURSE WITH WOUND.)Nevertheless and true-to-form, this record is absolutely unclassifiable... aside from obviously bearing certain FOETUS trademarks. If there's one identifiable style, then there's a dozen... all infused seamlessly. As one might expect from a major label debut, it could be argued that this is the most accessible album he released so far, but "accessible" for FOETUS and his fans is likely to be nerve-wracking, insane, and unlistenable to the typical listener. At the same time, the music contained therein is about as melodiously and lyrically memorable as one might expect from a big-name pop group. The difference (and the potential breaking point) for an unwary listener is in the sheer richness and intensity of this album. FOETUS has long since approached record making by using the recording studio as a means for overarching and orchestral ambition (while maintaining an all too close-to-the-bone street/club-oriented feel.)This is still an utterly amazing album even to this day!!! I think that _Gash_ is far more merciless, vicious, and relentless than anything JGT or nearly any contemporary musician has composed over the past decade and a half. This album makes a listener feel as if he is being put through ritual torture while on some sort of hyperbolic drug-induced rush. There are simply no dead points here. Even the lament "They Are Not So True" cuts out before there's a chance to settle breathing. "Verklemmt" was released as a single, but just about any song on the disc could have been spotlight-featured.Also, I need to make a point of his wordsmithing ability. Typically, FOETUS will reference cliches, idioms, slang and other conventional language only to twist them around into some really bizarre and diabolical puns. I think that he has actually achieved a new level of lyricism by developing this album to work in more personal and introspective terms. The language used generates both more sympathy and revulsion. Part of this undoubtably comes from his penchant for making several allusions to his home of New York City. Right from the album's start the protagonist is "...baptized in the Hudson River." This ironic dynamic of proximity vs. abandonment runs throughout the album including the artwork.JGT has indicated in interviews that he has wanted to make an album with total apocolyptic finalty... something to not as much cap off his career as much as be an all-encompassing and completely self-contained work. If this would have been his final album, then I believe he would (have) succeed(ed) on all possible counts. Nevertheless, an artist (and more generally, a personality) such as JGT can hardly be quenched. With so much work under his belt, it still would not surprise me if he was interested and able to revisit this type of project again.It is very difficult to decide whether this would make a better introduction to FOETUS than an album of much (well-deserved) respect as _Nail_ for example. I still recommend _Gash_ to anyone and everyone remotely interested in modern music that is simultaneously very challenging and compelling. Make no mistake that this is a "must buy" for fans of "industrial" and "cyber-tech" music."