This trip has been a hell of a lot of fun. It’s nice to examine music from a country that some metalheads might not be familiar with. Though Anthem from June and Loudness from July certainly have some exposure outside of Japan, these last two albums have almost no exposure here in the U.S. and abroad. In fact, info & videos on sites like Youtube are as rare as a unicorn. Despite being highly obscure, the music on what’s to come is still an absolute blast to listen to! As for today’s review.....we’re gonna get our hands all nice & bloody. So, pray to your ancestors, sharpen your Katana, and take a look at my review of Gotsu Totsu Kotsu’s 5th release, The Final Stand. Let’s begin!
Background
So here’s where things get complicated. I can find practically nothing about this band. English metal sites (The few I go to, at least) have such little info, it’s practically useless. Only on the more obscure sites, or fans of more obscure metal bands, will probably have information on these guys. So, I can’t offer much in this department.
Basic Description ***
Brutal West meets the Land of the Rising Sun.
On the surface, The Final Stand comes across like a standard Death Metal album from the United States or Europe. From the instrumentation to the vocal works (Despite being sung completely in Japanese), one could potentially mistake them for a band outside Japan. However, it’s the little things that make the music on this unique. For one, there’s the subject matter: laced throughout all of the brutality are images & references to samurai, Japanese culture, and Japanese folklore. This is even reflected in some of the instrumentation, as occasional usage of Japanese instruments gives the album some cultural identity to their music. So what you have is some absolutely brutal Heavy Metal, but metal that is also culturally aligned to a nation as well. Some really interesting stuff if you ask me!
Best Track
If there was a song that seemed to stand out from the rest, it would have to be Bunbutsu to-sen, or Cultural Battle as it is translated. For starters, the instrumentation is wild and furious, but it doesn’t fly off the rails. The vocal work is oddly clear, as Haruhisa Takahata (The singer & bassist of the band) puts his point front and center, but still leaves some guttural snarls in there for good measure. The lyrics seem to be a mix of acknowledging that war can progress civilization, but also criticizes the scars it can leave behind when the fighting is all done. In an interesting take, and one that’s just perfect for this album.
Bunbutsu to-sen (Cultural Battle)
Worst Track
Honestly, obscurity & lack of information are this album’s only weakness over in the states. Hell, for all intent & purpose Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu has a true cult status in America & the rest of the world. It is surprising who likes this band, and just as surprising is who’ve review pretty much anything from these guys.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
The Final Stand
Overall Impression & Rating
The Final Stand is a bonzai charge upon your brain! If Gotsu Totsu Kotsu weren’t so obscure and hard to locate, I might have given their 5th album a perfect 10. Even so, The Final Stand is worth all of your time. The absolutely relentless Death Metal, mixed in with cultural references to Japan’s past, makes for music that’s heavy but unique. Should you somehow find this thing, you would do well to get your hands on it!
The Final Stand gets a 9 out of 10.
And that was The Final Stand. An absolutely brutal Death Metal assault, but with a bit of Samurai ascetics thrown in to make it unique. It may be a pain in the ass to locate online, but it’s worth it in the end. So join me next time, when we get a little bit of power from Glorious Nippon. See you soon!
***
One final note: Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu prefer to call themselves Samurai Metal & not Death Metal. Give the themes they sometimes cover on this album (And the rest of their discography), I’m not surprised.
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