I have been a fan of Fargo, North Dakota’s Gorgatron for quite some time. Back in the day Anal Blast used to play shows with them and I have gotten to see and play on many shows with them since then. Well fast forward to summer 2020 and we have their Third full length record Pathogenic Automation.
This album marks return of guitarist Neil Stein who played on their first album Torturetorium. These hair whippers, octave shakers and blast beaters waste no time laying in the Hate Eternal influence on the opening track “Atrophy”. Vocalist Karl Schmidt is having a busy year with this release and also lending his Vox to Unmerciful’s Wrath Encompassed album earlier this year. I must say I am quite impressed by how clean of a production this has. I am also floored by the drum performance of Matt Johnson.
“Reactor” is one of my favorite tracks on the album which has almost a Morbid Angel Domination vibe at time. It is nice to hear the solo work of Paul Johnson and Neil Stein on display as they are well laid out and well placed through the album. One thing is for sure there are no shortage of catchy riffs on Pathogenic Automation.
Karl Schmidt’s vocals are incredibly well varied on this. No knock to his Unmerciful performance but his voice is meant for this band. His range is better represented with Gorgatron.
“Insurmountable” is another tune that has a strong Morbid Angel vibe. Maybe more so Gateways to Annihilation. In being friends with these guys this is not a surprise and is quite well done. I can honestly say throughout the whole album there are not too many parts that I didn’t find myself headbanging along with this.
“Imposter Syndrome” might be one of the fastest songs on the album. Matt Johnson is on fire with his blasting. “Noxious” has one of the better finger twister intro riffs on the album. The title track, “Pathogenic Automation” probably has the sickest intro riff on the album. “Frostbitten Amputation” has a bit of an Origin vibe with spacey arpeggios and then goes into an almost Cannibal Corpse like groove.
The closing track “Pierced from All Angles” reminds me a little bit of Angel Corpse and then goes into a very up-tempo triple chug section that would make Aeon proud. Having being around for fifteen years, Gorgatron have slowly grown into one of the hardest work death metal bands in the Midwest and I cannot see any reason for them not to be picked up by a bigger label because of this effort. For unsigned acts here in the United States Gorgatron have put into the work both in the studio and in the road and I hope that big things come for them because of this awesome release. Well done gents!
