GPKISM- Sublimis

ARTIST: GPKISM

ALBUM: Sublimis

LABEL: Darkest Labyrinth

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 10-5-08

The debut from Japanese/Australian act GPKISM is a somewhat formulaic but effective mixture of adrenaline-pumping dance beats and elements from goth and visual kei. Apart from the synthesized choir and harpsichords of instrumental intro and outro tracks "Omnia" and "Sanktus," these tracks largely fit into the same formula. First, a touch of classical ambiance, usually provided by synthesized choirs, then a burst of high-BPM techno beats laced with overdriven guitars (provided by Kiwamu, founder of of Japanese goth group Blood and owner of the Darkest Labyrinth label) and the vampiric baritone vocals of band founder GPK (the initials stand for his stage name, Gothique Prince Ken). The differences between tracks are largely cosmetic. The guitars are cleaner on "Metempsykhosis," for example, while the keyboards on "Immaculatus" are gloomier and the guitars more wailing. It's very much like Razed in Black's more recent work, with romantic classical overtones rather than industrial aggression, and should appeal very much to the same audience; only "Thanatosis" really misses the mark, and that's only because the church bells from the introduction continue throughout the rest of the song, making things a bit muddled when the harpsichords and trance leads kick in. Promising stuff, all things considered, and at just under a half hour in length, it's not long enough for the GPK's formula to wear itself out. Hopefully, though, when he releases a full-length he'll focus a bit more on varying the song structures.

Visit the GPKISM English-language MySpace page at www.myspace.com/gpkism for more information.