Gadget
Remote

February 2005
Released: 2004, Relapse Records
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Lord of the Wasteland

Hmmm…Swedish grind, eh? As strange as it sounds, this works! Gadget is a new signing to Relapse Records and they kick the crap out of everything in their wake with REMOTE, a twenty seven minute tornado of unrepentant blastbeats, screeched vocals and, dare I say it, even a few melodies. Fans of Nasum will think Gadget has cloned that band right down to their toenails but Gadget is no half-baked copy. They are more than able to stand their own with clearly capable musicianship, killer vocal deliveries and enough intensity to satisfy even the most ferocious headbanger out there.



At 27 minutes in length and 21 tracks to cover, it is clear that Gadget don’t mess around. They come in, smack you down and move on to the next track. Many songs invariably blend into the next but REMOTE is far from monotonous keeping the listener in tune with everything that is going on. Like Pig Destroyer and Nasum, one almost needs to take a rest after the browbeating incurred from a listening session but they also sneak in some barely-there melodic breaks, such as “Failure,” which demonstrate Gadget is more than just aggression and speed. The use of two vocalists adds a real interesting element to the songs, as well. Lower-than-low growls are coupled with some harsh screams that give the songs an almost blackened death feel which, when coupled with the blistering riffs and hyperblasting drums, are quite a package.



I was really taken aback by this CD. I wasn’t expecting much and maybe that is why I was so blown away by it. Or maybe it is because REMOTE is Gadget’s full-length debut and this band has nowhere to go but up, both creatively and as musicians. If they are this good now, look out…