Gilgamesj - 1984 - Take One

Gilgamesj

1984 

Take One

01. Oppression 3:02
02. Daybreak 5:13
03. Revolution 4:24
04. Head Shaker 3:54

Hans Laponder Drums
Gerrie den Hartog Guitars
Frank van Stijn Vocals
Jan Vos Bass
Henny van Santen Guitars

Recorded Feb. 1984 at Stonesound Studio, Roosendaal, Netherlands.

Oh yeah! Rough, hard-edged metal of Dutch origin. Gilgamesj may look like a bunch of weirdos but they don’t sound like it. Take ‘Oppression’, the opening number on this EP, with instant riffs and stunning lead guitar breaks. Good vocal delivery in perfect English from Frank van Stijn also impresses. ‘Daybreak’ is a ballad of sorts, starting off quietly before exploding into a beautiful finely paced rock song aided by a good rhythm backline, particularly drummer Hans Laponder. This song could be a classic if it was given top-notch production.

Side two features ‘Revolution’ (anything to do with Frank’s slight resemblance to Lech Walesa?!) and ‘Head Shaker’. An off-putting and messy intro to the former rather spoils things and production is a little too frugal… pass. The latter features an Udo-like yelp at the start of proceedings before going nowhere. Yep, sadly side two is a complete bummer, but listenable. Still, Take One is much better than the band’s showing on the Aardschok compilation album Metal Clogs of a few years ago. Maybe Gilgamesj will make more of an impression with their next release?

Dave Reynolds
Review taken from Metal Forces, Issue 4 (1984)