Gorement - The Ending Quest (1994)^{Release ID: 3786}

Well, The Ending Quest must be a specially kept secret of the death metal cognoscenti, because this sole full-length from Sweden's Gorement is an absolute classic of nineties death doom and it's various ingredients are like sonic vitamins that ensure the listener's mind and ears will grow strong enough to withstand the onslaught of extreme metal, yet I have never even heard of it before which is a shame because this is most definitely up my particular strasse and I am super-stoked to finally have made it's acquaintance, so thanks Daniel for nominating it. On reflection it is unfortunate that I dropped out of metal circles in the nineties because there was no end of underground-ish shit coming out that I would have lapped up if life had been a little kinder and this is absolutely one of those. It is an absolutely filthy-sounding record with some authentic sloppiness to the playing that reminds us we are listening to human beings and not machines which I always find far more endearing than absolute precision.

I agree that this feels more like a genuine death doom hybrid rather than a "death metal album with slow bits" from the likes of Autopsy and early Asphyx, rather it is more of a "death doom album with fast bits". They successfully combine the brutality of that Autopsy-like death metal with some really quite catchy doom-like melodies, but the primitive production never makes it actually feel that catchy, until you find yourself humming along to it that is!

Vocalist Jimmy Karlsson has a great line in sounding like an extremely irritated abyssal demon and the riffs are absolutely dripping with effluvium which is precisely the flavour I love in death doom metal and I will take it over that poncy, gothic-flavoured stuff any day. I joke of course and, in fact, there are times when this feels heavily influenced by Paradise Lost, such as on the excellent (but possibly too short) Silent Hymn (For the Dead). I know I am no death metal (or musical) expert and the genre has thrown out loads of precision-driven and technical masterpieces and I enjoy many of them, but this filthier, more primitive-sounding version of death metal is where I feel most comfortable and which fulfills something inside me that the more modern stuff doesn't touch.

Sweden’s Gorement are one of those unique cases of an extreme metal band that has built up a following very gradually over many years before finally being placed on somewhat of a pedestal by underground enthusiasts who all swear blind that they were into them back in the day. The reality is that unless you were an obsessive tape trader then you probably didn’t encounter the band until long after the year of release. There was a bit of a buzz around the tape trading scene about Gorement’s solitary full-length in the mid-1990’s & I was lucky enough to pick the album up through an Aussie trader I was involved with who was utterly infatuated with Swedish death metal, particularly of the doomier variety as we find here.

I have to say that “The Ending Quest” didn’t blow me away at the time though & it’s been fascinating to see their cool-factor gaining momentum over the years. I’ve been meaning to revisit the album for a good four or five years since I noticed it had been remastered & released by Century Media, mainly because I wanted to see if I’d been missing something back in the day. I also had a strong suspicion that “The Ending Quest” might be something that would interest our beloved Sonny given that one of my strongest memories of it was that it sat somewhere in the grey area between death metal & doom/death.

Upon review, I’d have to say that that’s a fairly accurate recollection because, despite most websites claiming Gorement to be doomy death metal in a similar way to that of bands like Autopsy & Asphyx, I’d suggest that “The Ending Quest” is actually a more genuine hybrid & worthy of a dual tagging (& clanning too if you want to get technical). Gorement combine the classic mid-paced death metal of Bolt Thrower & early Amorphis with the melodic doom/death of early Paradise Lost & Katatonia but they do it with the sort of grimy underground authenticity that appeals to an audience that was raised on crudely dubbed demo tapes. The execution is fairly sloppy & unsophisticated with the musicianship not being high on the list of priorities however those aren’t criticisms as such as those elements tend to work in with Gorement’s whole image & mystique to tell you the truth. I think it’s the contrast of the dark brutality of death metal with the catchy melodies of doom/death that gives them a unique atmosphere & appeal that’s quite rare these days & the filthy production job only further enhances that.

Front man Jimmy Karlson does a splendid job at the death growls & he may well be the highlight of “The Ending Quest” although there’s also an argument for the atmospheric guitar melodies during the doomier moments too. Unfortunately for me though, I’ve always favoured the more sophisticated American brand of death metal over the comparatively more primitive Scandinavian style & that position sees me craving a little more professionalism here. Despite quite enjoying almost the entire tracklisting, I can’t say that I find any of these tracks to really hit my sweet spot. It’s only really the noticeably weaker “Darkness Of The Dead” that I regard as being subpar with the other nine songs possessing an impressive consistency, even if the level they’re maintaining isn’t close to the top tiers. I tend to find the doomier moments to be more attractive than the up-tempo death metal riffs & I think that comes down to the band’s lack of precision as much as anything.

After giving “The Ending Quest” a few active listens in recent days I’ve reached the conclusion that not a lot has changed in regard to its appeal for me personally. It’s certainly an enjoyable listen but I can’t say that I feel like I’ll be returning to it any time soon. Is it worthy of the praise it seems to receive these days? Well… no, I don’t think it is. There was much better material being released at the time & I kinda get the feeling that it’s the albums primitive aesthetics that are as responsible for its lofty status as much as anything else. I mean, just take a look at that album cover, particularly the logo which seems to have been hand-drawn & pasted on with glue! If that’s not authentically underground & primitive then I dunno what is.