Turkish band GOD MODE was formed as recently as in 2013, and released their initial debut EP “Tempus vs. Mortis” the same year. Three years later the band returned with a desire to make their mark on the metal world also as a recording band with their full length debut album “Hybrid Lying Machine”. Initially self-released through Bandcamp in the spring of 2016, and now set for official release on September 19th according to the accompanying press release.
What we’re dealing with here is a band rather fond of dark, heavy and monumental metal, mainly revolving around a basic core of thrash metal but generally shying away from the vintage era of the style. It’s not a case of classic thrash riff passages being totally absent, but rather that when they appear they have more of a minor supporting role.
The key ingredient throughout this album, with one sole exception, are loud, monumental and massive guitar riffs. As pounding, bouncing big riffs hammering their way onward, as dampened thrash cascades with both a contemporary as well as a more vintage expression, as well as frantic hammering riffs with more of a hardcore oriented delivery. Probably to the extent that this band might be described as metalcore by some, although personally I’d say that they have a firmer base in thrash metal myself. At the most intense they also enter more extreme realms, with occasional similarities to a band like Possessed.
Besides the guitar riffs the sharp, hammering drums is a literally striking element of the sound God Mode have chosen to explore, and another signature details re the vocals, hovering on the borderline between hardcore style aggressive shouts and the darker and more primal metal growl. Guitars, drums and vocals combined creates a really intense vibe and sound throughout, perhaps at the expense of the songs themselves being slightly lost within the cascades of loud sounds. Be it as it may be, but at least for me that may be a reason for why I didn’t warm up more to the material explored here. Some other elements also struck me as perhaps not quite as interesting as others: The melodic vocals used on Generation-Z didn’t quite suit the context in which it was used in my opinion, and while the general idea of the more acoustic based instrumental ballad Healing Process is a clever one, it doesn’t manage to elevate this experience beyond being intriguing on a more intellectual plane for me at least.
While I don’t see this album as one that will resonate much beyond a set audience myself, those fond of loud, monumental and massive metal, explored within a context of fairly contemporary thrash metal with an orientation towards metalcore and occasional lapses into more of a death metal tinged landscape, will more likely than not feel right at home with this debut album by God Mode.
My rating: 66/100
