Gozu – Remedy
Release Date: 19th May 2023
Label: Metal Blade Records / Blacklight Media Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Stoner Metal, Hard Rock.
FFO: Lowrider, Dozer, Wo Fat, Alice in Chains, Robots of the Ancient World.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Remedy is the new heavy-groove oriented album by Boston quartet, Gozu. A band whose signature style is fuzzy 70s inspired riffs, grunge-esque vocal melodies and a touch of old school trippy psychedelia.
Now, it may have been mentioned previously, but artists must have to be careful when naming their compositions. They can’t be offensive (obviously, unless that is the intention), and there is the risk that the title might not translate into other languages and retain the same meaning. Similarly, they don’t want some smart-arse thinking he’s being clever by picking up on a song title and using it as a ‘hilarious’ simile for his review, but…
…Tom Cruise Control is the first track, and (unfortunately) it’s the one where having hit the road at a considerable pace, they then flick that titular switch, and leave it on for the duration of Remedy’s runtime. To continue the automotive vernacular, you also suspect that they have the Lane Keep Assist function on as CLDZ, Rambo 2 and Joe Don Baker (you must give them plaudits for the song titles!) all follow the same direction with little deviation.
To be fair, it is a good direction to be going in. Travelling a well-worn groove that is clearly signposted, the band’s music feels solid and substantial, but you get the impression that if there was congestion ahead, they’re not looking at the map for an interesting alternative route.
Driving on cruise control can be familiarly reassuring, but ultimately it lacks that exciting unpredictability that we all crave sometimes.
*Note to self. No one likes a smart-arse!
(3 / 5)
