Gigan – Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes

While being deeply interested in Gigan for quite sometime, I was never captivated enough to check out a record from these space-age dwelling hell birds, once I caught wind of “Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes”, I knew I had to get my hands on it and fast. In the world of Death/Grind, bands seemed to come out of the woodwork. Gigan is no different in the way they can bust out harmonies and sweeps at any given moment. As much as I want to bash this record for being a “following” to certain bands, I can’t. The first couple of listens give an excellent ride but once you hear the record over and over, it just overstays it’s welcome. I can dig death/grind stuff but when the songs last nearly 8 minutes in length, that’s not just acceptable on my time card of fun.

“Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes” is the type of record that will have you dreaming of space-age illusions and mathematical grind with never ending blasts to the throat. It can get a little boring toward the middle of the record but they seem to keep your attention, no idea how but they do. Keep in mind, “Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes” is my first experience with this band and from what I hear the debut full-length, “The Order of the False Eye”, destroys this record by galaxies but that’s for my treasure hunting adventures to find out. Although this album does tend of get bland with it’s sort of show off antics, tracks like “In the Tentacled Grasp of a Buried Behemoth” and “Vespelmadeen Terror” tend to keep the listener coming back for something more. Gigan would be killer to see live, on record though, they just seem kind of in the circle with every other Death/Grind band.

Everything just seems so mashed together like it was poured into a melting pot to dry for hours. The riffs are unique but somehow get lost in a daze with all the other tempo changes and speed this record has. The time changes and structure are also something that bother me. It seems they’re heavily influenced by Rush in ways, which isn’t a bad thing, but they seem to take it to the next extreme. I was really enjoying this record the first couple of listens but after about five or so play-throughs, the record and songs just lay waste on your brain with toxic chemicals that dwell for no good reason. I can’t bash the band for actually being decent musicians or even putting out 2 albums that people enjoy, I just can’t find enjoyment out of 8 minute death/grind songs that have more sweeps and neck work then my grandmother on a windy day. I’ll keep this record around just incase I wanna give it a spin but I won’t be spinning it as much as I wanted to when I first got my palms on it.

Gigan – A band full of talent, sweeps that most will love and a live show that will probably blow you away.. Just because I’m not the biggest fan, that doesn’t mean shit. If you dig this record, disregard this review and never listen to me again but if you actually pick this record up, let me know because I would love to hear feedback. Gigan – Not the same creature that fought Godzilla, the creature that loves to lay down death/grind tracks that last a little bit longer for my taste in space-age creations.

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