Those were some of the words that came to mind when I heard this piece of work for the first time. Here is a band that clearly created their own musical universe, without any genre limitations, or any other limitations for that matter. With a blend of metal, electronics and a tremendous amount of samples and noise, Gloomy Hellium Bath comes up with something quite interesting.
Now, we already know that France is a country that often delivers very original and quite strange musical acts. So I wasn't really surprised when I thought about Treponem Pal when I heard this. The music coming out of my speakers right now could indeed be categorized as industrial metal, and pretty violent version of the genre as well. Think Fear Factory meets Atari Teenage Riot meets Merzbow and add some influences from present day electronic music like dubstep and you're quite close to the sound of GHB.
The people behind this act are experienced musicians who love to experiment with electronics and sound as a whole. The project was created in 2014 by Edgard Chevallier (Ltp-studio engineer and former guitarist of Würm) and Christophe Denhez (Nerv, Mur, Område), in order to give way to their electronic exploits. And that's where this album seems at its best. While the metal aspect of the whole drives on fierce distorted guitars and often death growls, the electronics seem to have borrowed influences from fifty years of electronic music.
There's the old school EBM by Nitzer Ebb (in 'Lady Boy'), the dark electronics of Fad Gadget (in title track 'Sistema Solera'), the crossover industrial of Ministry (in 'Fight' and 'Fuck It'), the drum & bass and dubstep of the present day scene. And then there's 'Dead Rising Horse', combining all of the above. All of course are loaded with guitars, otherwise we probably wouldn't even be reviewing this album. Needless to say that this is one intense piece of music.
This is one of those albums that take the industrial metal genre a step further into the present day and have the power to drag it into the future. I really dig this piece of work. I hope Gloomy Hellium Bath takes their chaotic metal circus on the road because this is something I'd definitely like to witness in person. No doubt it will be a blast on stage, having people dance and bang their heads at the same time. Check it out, you might be completely blown away by this stuff.
Serge