Unsigned & Unholy: Gulguta

Gulguta, from Fribourg, Switzerland, apparently take their name from a tabletop RPG character whose “strength is matched only by his unbound fury.” Which is appropriate enough. Gulguta’s music is like a someone lept out of the shadows and threw a blanket made from steel wool over your head: it’s scabrous, smothering, and suppressive. They’re most easily classified as a grindcore band, but their new, self-released album, II, has a distinct black metal influence as well. It seems like this melding of genres is starting to become a trend, and I gotta say, I like it. “rien ne change” (“Nothing Changes”) has woozy guitars that rise like mercury to throw off the listener’s balance; “ce que tu es” (“What You Are”) replicates that stampeding dread you get when you realize you’ve already made a grievous error; “pantin des dieux ” (“Puppet of the Gods”) is a nightmarish brain ripper that balances the creepy with the chaotic. It’s all very, very good.

More of this, less of everything else, please.

Check out Gulguta’s II below. You can listen to/purchase more of their music here.