Monday 9 July 2012

Integrity / Gehenna 7" split

The stuff I haven't posted about seems to be piling up a bit lately. I usually try and write my posts in the order I receive them, but sometimes things just take a higher priority than others. Of course this is an example of that, I'm just too excited about this record to not write about it straight away. Anyone who has read my blog knows of my love for both of these bands (To be honest, I sometimes feel I talk about Integrity so much that this is basically an Integ worship site). So for them to come together and collaborate on a split is just about the best thing I can imagine, and of course it doesn't disappoint at all.
A wee while, HT records put up an ad for their releases on their Facebook page. On the bottom left-hand corner is a rather different artwork for this split. While I think that one would have been cool as the artwork, I suppose this one is more fitting with the theme of the music.
 This split consists of three tracks; two from Gehenna and one from Integrity, all of which are gold. Gehenna starts things off with "A Parallel Hell", which starts agonizingly slow as it builds up to a state of Gehenna-infused madness. The whole only lasts just under 1:30, which then makes way for "Amphetamine Psychosis". This is reminiscent of the psychedelic train ride present in the split with Blind to Faith, and ends with the slow riff from the beginning of the first track.
If this side of the split hasn't left you in a catatonic state, you can then turn it over to hear the latest offering from the almighty Integrity. "I Know VVhere Everybody Lives" again starts out very slow, in fact it always reminds me of the beginning of "Before The VVorld VVas Young" from The Blackest Curse. The slower pace is kept for a while, but it doesn't take long for the track to burst open with the blistering speed Integrity manages so well.
For a more in-depth review of the tracks, check out this great post be Evan at Total War.
 In total, five different versions of this have been pressed. The version I managed to get my hands on was the pre-order version, limited to 200 on pink vinyl which is now sold out. I don't know about the other versions, but the pink comes with colourful flower patterns on the centre labels. There are also band versions (clear for Gehenna and black for Integrity) that have 100 copies each. If you were lucky enough to witness the European tour (or have someone you know go, like this lucky individual, or this one) you would have been able to pick up a copy of the green version, with just 100 copies as well. But if all that has failed, there is always the regular distro version on blue. This is still available to buy from the new and improved HT vvebstore.
 Inside the front cover we have some more artwork and the lyrics to all three songs. It took me a while to figure out just what was going on in this picture, I think I'll let you have the same fun trying to guess what it is.
 What's more is this completes part of a puzzle in splits between various metallic hardcore bands. I'll try and figure out a good way to photo exactly what I mean soon...

2 comments:

  1. Cheers for the shout-out! I love this record. Whilst the BTF split used Witch-Lord riffs, these Gehenna tracks are like if SangRaal merged with Kickback.

    I'm counting down the days until I see the Infamous in August.

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    1. You're very lucky to be able to see them. Great interview with POI by the way

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