Artist: Gurd  
   Title: Bang!
   Label: Dockyard 1

Swiss band Gurd have been the heart of Swiss metal for over ten years and now with a new record deal with Dockyard 1 Records Gurd return with a 'Bang!'.

The band have seen many line up changes in their history, but still at the head of the band is vocalist/guitarist V.O Pulver, who is joined by Franky Winkelmann on bass, Mauro Casciero on drums and finally the newest member Pat Muller on guitars.  Together they are on a mission to bring back the Gurd sound back to the masses.

The album opens up with ‘The Grand Deception’, a hard hitting track that get the album off to a thunderous start with the pounding drums of Casciero breaking to silence with monstrous back beat and Pulver’s grinding vocals.

The album continues with the title track ‘Bang’, another drum laden track this time accompanied by some outstanding metal riffs from both Pulver and Muller.  The whole Gurd sound is on very reminiscent of some Machine Head mixed with a little early Slayer and that whole 80’s Bay area sound.  That feel of intense rhythmic heavy metal that made the whole Bay area sound so prominent in the 80’s is brought bang up to date with this new release.  A prime examples of this is ‘Spirit of Rock’ with its rampaging guitar riffs and ‘Break The Ban’, another guitar fuelled metal assault this time with Muller joining Pulver on vocal duties.

The band also pay tribute to one of the gods of heavy metal Black Sabbath with their version of ‘Children Of The Grave’ and what a great version it is too.  The band being joined by vocalist Andre Grieder who used to sing with one of Pulver’s early bands Poltergeist.

The intensity of the album is never lost in some vain attempt by the band to go over the top with the grinding vocals and they still manage to keep the ferocity of the Gurd sound.  A thing that some of the new young hardcore bands would be well to take notice of!

This is a great metal album full of outstanding guitar riffs, a powerful rhythm section and some great vocal performances both from Pulver and Muller and is an album that will surely put Gurd back on the metal map

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