Sydney’s hardest-working Death Metal bands release music! Finally!
Wollongong-based Old School Death Metal band Gosika has spent the last 5 years slogging their way up and down the coast playing hundreds of gigs, supporting big and small bands, headlining their own shows, and earning a solid rep as a killer live act. So hopefully the two main, burning questions on their socials have finally been answered, “when are you guys finally gonna release some music?” and “What the fuck even is a Gosika anyway?!”
The EP opens with an intro Prologue about using Ancient Magicks to summon The Unspoken One, which then launches us into first song, Summoning The Unspoken One and something I noticed instantly was the distinctly Aussie (aka Bogan) accent on the intro, which for me gave it a homegrown, kinda low-key vibe which I liked cos it wasn’t trying for grandiosity or flash, it let us know we in for some some no-frills, straight up OSDM.
The first song Summoning The Unspoken One opens with an epic, chord-driven riff and some sick rolls and fills and instantly I noticed the production job is killer. All the Tom hits are crisp and clear and Connors drumming is a stand-out throughout the whole EP. Clear blasts and fasts, tight fills and rolls grabbed my attention continually through the 6 track/22 odd min this EP ran for. Summoning The Unspoken One is a solid four or so min of straight death metal with an old-school feel. The riffs are sick and the band manages to transition between them seamlessly so that you get a constant stank face and head bangs and they never sit in a groove for too long. I’m a fan of a slowed-down mid section and this songs has a sick one, with some nice pinched harmonics and some twangy, fat bass.
Second track is one of the band’s oldest and live staples, Ancient Magicks, one of two songs released as a single prior to the EP. After an epic intro, it kicks into a frantic and fast riff that reminds of early Cannibal Corpse and after a quick repeat, slows down for an epic chorus. The first time I saw Gosika I had a clear memory (one of only a few from that night tbh) of this young kid ripping off a fucken sick two-hand tapping lead while banging his head like a crazy man, then ripping through the rest of the song then coming back around and nailing the tapping section again and I was stoked as fuck to hear Matt’s epic guitar work loud and clear and punching through the mix when that bit of the song rolled around.
Slow jam Autopsy is next, and as is the case with most death metal slow jams, it’s a steady build across 5+ min and has a cheeky lil blast at the end just when you think it’s finished. Marcus’ huge bass tone was a stand out and caught attention more as the song went on and built-in tension.
The second single and other live staple, Four Man Mosh is next, and opens with an 80’s sounding Big 4 riff which for gives off Hell Awaits era Slayer vibes, especially when the drums kick in. It’s a fast and thrashy banger designed for circle pits and switches between fast alternate-picked riffs and epic chords. One thing I noticed in particular with this song, is Liam’s vocals are present but not always as clear as the instruments, and I thought they could have used a lil boost in the chorus of this one as they shout the titular slogan, but in all fairness, I mostly listened to this on my shitty car stereo and it wasn’t as noticeable in my headphones. Speaking of which, singer Liam’s presence here is used pretty cleverly. Replacing a previous singer who played guitar, Gosikas sound shifted in a more Death Metal direction, however, the trade-off being he added a frantic and infectious energy to the live show that levelled up the experience noticeably and gets the crowds more involved, and while there a few sections in each song where he takes a back seat, every time a fast verse or an epic chorus kicks in, Liam’s raspy growls are right there to catch your attention.
Closer The Gosika is an epic riff/drum Fest for the first minute before settling into a speedy verse with a chunky picked chorus riff and a sick as fuck slow section with Liam’s low growls and Marcus bass prominent before it gradually speeds up and up we get a sweet bass break and blast beat driven solo.
