Having been given the (unofficial) title of “Japan’s angriest band”, it’s a moniker GUNGIRE seem intent on living up to. A power trio in its purest definition (i.e., powerful) the band draws influence from a wide variety of sources, everything from movie soundtracks to pop-punk via the heaviest of metalcore. Taking these disparate inspirations and pounding them into their own shape, GUNGIRE have a sound that’s truly original and throws curveballs to constantly confuse the listener (but in the nicest way). True to the band’s modus operandi, their latest EP, OUTLIVE, contains three diverse tracks that each show a facet of this wonderfully diverse band.
The first thing that really hits you about the opening song Till The Grave is the band’s sense of urgency. Within a few seconds, we are greeted with a thunderous drum roll, a banshee scream and a chunky guitar riff; it ensures the band arrive with full force and the effect is not unlike being covered in a rockfall. The sound created is huge and monolithic, but most importantly, GUNGIRE are full of good ideas and that ensures things never become staid. Till The Grave is a song in constant evolution, the riffs and time signatures are like shifting sands and don’t inhabit the same sonic space for long. The vocals are equally dynamic and flit between the clean and guttural, the result being a song that’s stitched together by its own diversity with the band packing more into these four-and-a-half minutes than most bands pack into an entire career.
After that frenetic, eclectic opener, OUTLIVE falls into a more measured tone with the following Go Away. It’s here where the band’s diverse influences come into play; there’s a definite emo vibe going on, an almost otherworldly feel as the band creates a real sense of place and time, a crystalline starry night or a mountainous vista, yet the band puncture these serene moments with some of the heaviest metal known to man. It’s an interesting tension of opposites between the lithe and heavy, ensuring that the song breathes like some shapeshifting alien (which is quite possibly what GUNGIRE are).
Three tracks that mark GUNGIRE as a contemporary force, OUTLIVE finds the band wheeling out the big guns, and with these songs in their arsenal,
you feel that the sky is the limit. It’s an EP which finds GUNGIRE locked, loaded and ready to take on the world.
Tracklisting:
1. Till The Grave
2. Go Away
3. G.A.M.E. (feat. Flare Boy (Malissa))
OUTLIVE is available for listening via the digital way, such a streaming services or buy the digital files, but you can also buy the physical version in the online shop of the band or at the live shows.
