GIDIM

Normally, I tend to avoid the Tech/Extreme Prog Metal genre because I feel like I would only rate the music unfairly, since I am not a huge fan of the style, especially the growling vocals and the unrelenting noise. I'm not saying I don't like noisy music, because I do, but, it is just a personal issue. I always try to be non-judgmental when it comes to labels, but this is one genre that I tend to let my personal tastes come into play, so I tend to avoid it. I know I have probably missed out on some occasional awesome bands by doing this, but I try to watch to see what others are saying about the music instead of taking time out to listen.

In the case of "Rings of Saturn", a Tech/Extreme Prog Metal band formed in 2009, I decided to give them a go after seeing them on Tapfret's favorites list of 2019. We seem to like a lot of the same things, so I thought I would try out their new album "Gidim", released in October of 2019. The cover looks more like a psych/space band piece of cover art, which I also found intriguing. The album is made up of 10 tracks and has a run-time of 43 minutes. The line up for this album consists of the trio of Ian Bearer on vocals, Lucas Mann on guitars, bass, keyboards and synths, and Joel Omar on guitars. There are also 3 guest vocalists that appear on 3 separate tracks. The album is also available in a "Ghost Edition" which has instrumental versions of all of the tracks.

I was a bit surprised to see that no one has ever done a written review on the band in the Archives, so there was really nothing to go on as far as that goes. One thing that is quite obvious is that out of the original line-up, only Lucas Mann remains. However, Joel Omar was brought on early on in order to begin touring, so I suppose that would make him an original member. Ian Bearer was also brought on for vocals on the 2nd album in 2014, so as far as the remaining trio goes, they have been working together for 5 years.

So, bringing my prejudices for the genre into the experience, yet trying my best to keep an open mind, I delved into the experience. Beginning with "Pustules" with Charles Caswell (from "Berried Alive") as a guest vocalist, the music comes barreling forward at full volume, full extreme sound and growling vocals. The music, however, has some nice layers of chaotic guitar and keys, which breaks up the wall of noise a bit, and the riffs are definitely unique and interesting. I can't get over the fact that the vocals sounds like barking dogs, but other than that, it's not too bad. I like the chaotic interplay between the guitar and synths. "Divine Authority" doesn't tone anything down, but it does barrel itself at you with a vengenance, amping up the thrash sound and destroying all of the surrounding air molecules around you with abandon. Those vocals are unrelenting, but the progressive side of the music is at 100 percent craziness.

On Hypodermis Glitch, Dan Watson (from "Infant Annihalator") does some guest vocals and sounds like Gollum's baby child against Ian's deathly growls. "Bloated and Stiff" makes you think that the album is going to just be unrelenting chaos and noise, but as it gets around the 2 minute mark, and at the end, there is a bit of a reprieve, even though the sound is dark and dissonant. "Tormented Consciousness" features another guest vocalist Yo Onityan, who temporarily sat in for Mann to play guitar for Rings of Saturn in 2018.

The album continues on and continues to play at full noise and chaos levels all the way through. Of course the musicianship is awesome, but its just way too unrelenting for my own tastes. The vocals remain dirty all the way through the album, and that is also a drawback for me. If you love the djent and technical sounds of extreme metal, then this is for you. It's not for me though, but I still have to rate it. Since I don't hear anything really that stands out from the fray, I have to go with 3 stars, as it just seems like average extreme metal to me. But my ears are not attuned to the genre, so take that however you want. If you love this music, then please review it so that my rating doesn't necessarily reflect the album's average if it is non- deserving, but it is too hard for me to say, as I am not an expert at this type of noise and chaos that never lets up and that moves too quickly for my old brain to keep up with. But, I at least gave it a try.