Artist: Gouge
Country: Norway
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP
Year: 2026
Although Gouge did play at the renowned Danish Death Metal festival Killtown Deathfest in 2014, I’ve always felt that they entered the scene just a little too late to really reap the benefits of the resurgence of the old-school Death Metal scene between 2008 and 2012. Gouge made their debut in 2012 via Hells Headbangers Records with their ‘Doomed To Death’ 7” EP and certainly had all the potential to ride the wave of success enjoyed by many bands a few years earlier. The fact that they have nevertheless remained somewhat in the shadows lends them an extra air of prestige; partly due to their slow pace of releasing new material, Gouge is, in a sense, a well-kept secret of the contemporary Death Metal scene.
That in itself is quite a remarkable observation, as Gouge’s music is actually timeless and is still appreciated by many. Add to that the fact that one of the biggest Extreme Metal labels, Hells Headbangers Records, has always supported them. But it makes it all the more enjoyable to be surprised by new material from this Norwegian duo, coming out of the blue. Because let’s not forget, ‘Beyond Death’, their debut full-length album, was released eleven years ago, and since then there has been complete silence surrounding Gouge.
But, with only one 7” EP (2012) and one full-length record (2015) under their belts, it is not unlikely that lots of people missed the band entirely or were simply not around when they first burst into the Death Metal scene. If that were the case, it’s some consolation that you haven’t really missed out on anything in the sense that you need to delve deeply into the band’s work. With ‘Pure Deathfuck’, the lads are only releasing their third offering, and it’s really nothing different from what was on ‘Doomed To Death’ and ‘Beyond Death’. And that is, to be honest, a fairly simple, straight-forward kind of Death Metal with its roots firmly planted in the 80s.
I regularly see the band described as Death/Thrash Metal, but that’s possibly based on the perception of people who’ve just had a quick listen to a few tracks or simply have a limited understanding of the genre. Just because something is fast doesn’t automatically make it a Thrash Metal-influenced Death Metal record. If you were to throw Autopsy, Slaughter, Master, Repulsion and Terrorizer into a blender, there’s a good chance you’d end up with something that sounds quite like Gouge.
The kind of Death Metal that Gouge plays is heavily based on the building blocks of Punk/Hardcore and much less on those of Metal. Of course, it’s not entirely free of Thrash Metal influences, as you’ll regularly come across a Slayer-esque lead, but it’s primarily the wild, upbeat tempo of the early Grindcore/Punk scene that has left an unmistakable mark on Gouge. This makes it particularly well-suited for fans of bands such as Maim, early Morbus Chron, Death Breath or Basterd Priest. I’d even go so far as to say that Gouge should actually routinely be mentioned in the same breath as those bands. The fact that this hasn’t always been the case has to do with what I started this review with. You can decide for yourself whether Gouge is a severely underrated band or, on the contrary, a hidden gem discovered and appreciated by only a select few.
