Gas Chamber strike fear in the hearts of many because they wield hardcore origins like a dagger while plugging you with bodacious prog-rock chops every so often, By The End Of Tonight-style. The audacious fusion is thrilling at best, odd at turns, and awkward when it falls flat on its face right in front of your ears. That’s what I love about Hemorrhaging Light, however. It takes a deuce to the chops and gets back up, fire-punching like a madman with that same determination you spotted in him when he was frequenting the low-money chump fights. You just don’t hear music like this much these days, and that might be the ultimate compliment in and of itself: they went there when no one else would. We’re talking bass solos (not to mention a ton of high-fret work on the four-string) and extended forays into mellowness; drumnastics and brushes with near-Rush, all juxtaposed by not only rife, full-of-Strife hardcore but the jumpy, loose-limbed prog manner mentioned above. A band have decided the rules don’t apply to them, a development I’ll encourage even if it doesn’t always jibe with exactly what I cotton to at the moment. That said, Hemorrhaging Light holds much intrigue for many of you reading this site. You’ll have to answer the really tough questions yourself (Can I accept Gas Chamber’s wildly fluctuating din? Is _____ right for me? Did I catch _____?), and while you deal with that I’ll mention Side A of this LP hits a lot harder (and deeper, if I may say so) than Side B. Coincidence? You decide.
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