GORY BLISTER is an Italian Progressive/Technical Death Metal band with more history than their discography might reveal. These guys have been producing Death Metal since 1991, as in 2 years before the mighty CARCASS released the classic "Heartwork", but wasn't properly signed until 2003, since whence they've released 4 albums prior to this fifth full-length effort, "The Fifth Fury".

And that CARCASS reference is not there for naught, for there are many elements on "The Fifth Fury" that are reminiscent of CARCASS' Melodic Death era, particularly in the song structures and the screeches of vocalist Paolo "John St. John", but thankfully not the point of being any more than a welcome inspiration. Likewise the avid listener can also note inspirations from the late-days of DEATH as well as ARCH ENEMY in the guitars and from MORBID ANGEL on the riffs. The result is a well-organized chaos of heavy riffs, Technical breakdowns, Progressive song structures and dynamic solos; all kept well under 5 minutes per song. But most importantly to note is that these guys have a soft spot for old-school Death Metal, and the Technical and Progressive aspects are there to excite the existing music, not to take it over - which is a welcome sight to this Melodic Metal lover.

And they've made that perfectly clear half-way through the first song, "Psycho Crave", which with its riffs, guitar-play and "flesh"-filled chorus could've easily come from CARCASS' "Heartwork" - and that can never be a bad thing. The MORBID ANGEL influences take over on the second track, "Thresholds", which is a heavier and more riff-heavy track that refuses to play along to traditional song structures. The third song, "Toxamine", returns the CARCASS influences but retains the heavier nature of "Thresholds" to forge a crushing combination of the two.
The album takes a slight yet welcome turn towards DEATH territories on the fourth track, "Devouring Me", while fusing it into their by now established CARCASS-esque sound, where the guitar takes front and really wins ground. The fifth song and the one chosen for their first official music video, the title track "The Fifth Fury"(I wonder if placing it at position 5 was intentional?), takes a more Melodic twist on "Thresholds"'s unconventional song structure. The sixth track, "Prometheous Scars", is a rather MORBID ANGEL à la "Domination"-reminiscent track with some really crushing drum segments.

And if anyone thought the DEATH inspirations had run its course, the seventh track "(Meet Me) in the Mass Grave" comes along whose guitar plays(especially at the beginning) are so reminiscent of "Symbolic" that it's like a nostalgia kick. The eight track, "The Grey Machinery", ends the regular album with an almost DREAM THEATER-like guitar-lead track. A ninth track exists as a bonus track, entitled "Heretic Infected Orchestra", and is a completely Orchestral and rather excellent track that, while completely different from the rest of the album, is at times creepy, at times haunting, and at times beautiful.

"The Fifth Fury" is everything but a mixed bag; it's exactly one thing and that thing is a modern version of the Death Metal albums of old with some - but just some - Progressive touches. The sound is 10/10, and that really brings out every strike of aggression, every twist and turn of the music and, for good or bad, every source of inspiration. Its strongest point is that, unlike many of its peers, it manages to stay interesting and alive throughout the album's length while mangling on without hesitation or stop. The weak point on the other hand is that there are really only two tracks that I found remotely memorable, that being "Psycho Crave" and "Devouring Me", and the rest of the tracks, while definitively not bad or boring, appeared not much more than variations of each other, making them easily forgotten. Truth be told, I was so gladdened to hear the bonus track simply because of the variation that I thought about calling it out as the best track on the album.

But if you're looking for that one thing, and that being old-school inspired Death Metal in modern form, then GORY BLISTER's "The Fifth Fury" has got that in abundance.