Band:	Gorod
Album:	A Perfect Absolution
Style:	Technical death metal
Release date:	March 2012

01. The Call To Redemption
02. Birds Of Sulphur
03. Sailing Into The Earth
04. Elements And Spirit
05. The Axe Of God
06. 5000 At The Funeral
07. Carved In The Wind
08. Varangian Paradise
09. Tribute Of Blood

Arguably the most original tech death combo, Gorod have returned with another five billion notes crammed into another - fourth to be more precise - outstanding 40-minute album. With a history of consistency like that, it is a puzzle why this French band remains relatively unknown while fans of the genre get unanimously excited when Obscura, Spawn Of Possession, Psycroptic or The Faceless release a new album. Bad marketing probably? whatever, let us see what goodies Gorod are treating us to this time.

Continuing in the style of Process Of A New Decline, the guitar players keep themselves very busy, each trying to make his own contribution through various harmonies, and establish quite a saturated sound but never lose a sense of direction: as usual, Gorod excel at composing what could be called well-orchestrated brutality. The good news for the haters of the overly technical predecessor is that A Perfect Absolution is a little more relaxed: almost each song has a calmer moment where the guitar players can show their excellent soloing skills.

So what is new about the new album? First, the production is cleaner than ever: Gorod continue getting better in this regard with each release. Compared to the cold mechanical sound of POAND, A Perfect Absolution's tone is much warmer and polished, and even the bass is quite pleasantly present, especially on the groovier parts where the mix is not captivated by the blast beats. Second, listeners should be surprised by some interesting style fusions: there is a funky part with Christian Muenzner from Obscura performing an unexpectedly suitable funky guest solo; there is also a somewhat Cuban-sounding section on "Varangian Paradise;" a piano intro with an acoustic solo on "5000 at the Funeral" followed by a spoken word is also something new for this band. Third, no third really? Gorod continue to deliver their virtuosic proggy death metal and impress with their beautiful solos throughout the album. By the way, another guest on A Perfect Absolution is Michael Keene of The Faceless performing the second solo on "The Axe of God" (which is also beautiful).

And to the negatives? Those who know Gorod know that vocals have never their strong side (but with awesome music like this who gives a damn?), and the new vocalist Julien "Nutz" Deyres does not save the day. His delivery is a little juicier than the band's previous vocalist Guillaume Martinot, but some sort of depth is still missing. Aside from that, no other big flaws, so give this record and band some listening time.