G.G.F.H. – Disease

Nothing else sounds like this album, it's a perfectly realised blend of seemingly contradictory elements: the gore and musical virtuosity of death metal, and the energy and sound pallete of rave. What is most impressive is how these two musicians so perfectly managed to absorb the dynamics of (British?) Rave music and use it to express the subject matter of extreme metal; usually the combination leads to lacklustre hybrids that fail to meet the expectations, managing only a parody-like appropriation of the other genre. But here GGFH sat comfortably in both worlds (though you'd never hear this on a dancefloor). Both the sounds and the melodies are incredible: infectious, abstract, from the dance music world but not of it. The snatches of sound system tropes - bleeps and dub basslines - nod to those immersed, but don't stand out as appropriation. It's a unique album, from the time when distinct scenes of electronic and guitar music were beginning to cross fertilise in unexpected ways, before the irreducible forms of drum and bass and black metal consumed the furthest extremes of each. Treasure it.