A random Spotify recommendation caught this scribe’s eyes when going to put on some music, and Gore-Girl Project turned out to be quite the diamond in the rough. What initially seemed like a VTuber project turned out to be a multi-faceted, genuine metallic article with a surprising number of high-profile guests (for those aware of the Japanese scene at least) and an impressively diverse number of tracks that run the gamut from slamming, brutal death metal to power metal to jpop and blurring the lines in between.
Gore-Girl Project stands out because of it’s unique blend of different influences that span it’s tracks. One of the album’s strongest tracks, “Death Penalty” opens with an anime-ish upbeat synth only to instantly drive firmly into brutal death metal riffing and blastbeats. Featuring guttural lows and slamming riffs, it’s an impressively heavy onslaught with a surprising amount of catchiness…until Uyu (Mana Diagram) storms in with some upbeat vocals and danceable synths take the song in a completely different direction. It’s a bit shocking, but in the best way. “Crimson Violator” soars with epic, blasting power metal energy blurred with melodic death courtesy of vocals from KOKOMI (Fate Gear) and Eugenics Scarlet Divinity. Toss in a fiery solo and it’s a ripper of a track.
“Coagulation” brings some sonic battery and raging death metal behind it, complete with gurgled vocals, but some female cleans give it a few moments of restraint amidst the chaos. A fun, ‘don’t blink or you’ll miss it’ cover of Napalm Death’s “You Suffer” featuring Fate Gear serves as a nice wink and nod to the heavier moments. Meanwhile, “Blasted Blue” is laced with jpop/idol elements with a good chunk of the heaviness removed, sans some energetic drumming and riffs subtly sitting below the synthwork. The closer “Meteorstorm” fuses those modern electronic elements with a heavier backbone to push the track into a futuristic feeling, bolstered by a catchy chorus, to finish the album on.
Coregula feels very much like a beautifully woven together passion project. From the grim, almost guro-styled artwork of the cover, to the eclectic musical diversity that springs from track to track, it’s clear there was a lot of thought and effort into putting together a unique vision and concept that blends heavy metal, anime, and more. Gore-Girl Project is a welcome discovery for anyone seeking something totally outside the box that pulls from much of metal’s greatest elements and merges it with a dark yet kawaii aesthetic.