SCORN

GYRAL

  1/  Six Hours One Week                         (Harris)                      6.35
  2/  Time Went Slow                             (Harris)                      9.39
  3/  Far In Out                                 (Harris)                      5.49
  4/  Stairway                                   (Harris)                      8.04
  5/  Forever Turning                            (Harris)                      5.12
  6/  Black Box                                  (Harris)                      7.36
  7/  Hush                                       (Harris)                      9.00
  8/  Trondheim - Gavale                         (Harris)                      9.10
  9/  Dreamspace                                 (Harris,Bullen)               5.08
      (Coil - Unstable Sidereal Oneiroscopic Mix)

          Created and mixed by Mick Harris at The Box, Birmingham, England
          Produced by Mick Harris
          Track 9 remixed by Coil

Mick Harris: beats, sounds, programming; (9) Michael John Harris and Nicholas James Bullen: bass, lead guitar, drums, drum machine, samples, percussion, voice.

          1995 - Scorn Records/Earache (UK), SCORN 2 (2x12")
          1995 - Scorn Records/Earache (USA), SCORN 2 (CD)
          1995 - Toy's Factory (Japan), TFCK-88766 (CD)

Note: Only the Toy's Factory version contains track 9.

REVIEWS :

Perhaps this is Scorn at its least daring. There isn't much new ground broken here, and the artwork that shares its creator with Evanescence and Elipses perhaps alludes to that fact. What you do find here is a more stripped down version of what Evanescence seemed to be about. The tracks seem, on the whole, slower and less complex. The vocals are gone. The beats are mellow and the bass is subterrainian. Still a great moody record, but lacking the real meat of some of the others. I would liken it to Cocteau Twins Four Calander Cafe, which is a nice listen, but a step in that band's trajectory that neither forged aggresively forward nor harkened longingly back. A lateral move?

mjeanes

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If I were trapped on a desert island with nothing but a CD player and one disk of my choice, it would definitely be Scorn's "Gyral". This is hands down my favorite album of all time. Gyral was the first solo album for Mick Harris, after an angry split with bandmate Nick Bullen. Each of these tracks are pure bliss, there is not a single piece of this album that I don't completely love. The soundscapes in this album are in my opinion Mick's best work: Each track maintains it's own certain feel to it from start to finish, evolving from a subtle rhythm to a climax of perfectly integrated sounds. A definite must for anyone that appreciates music.

Fleshpile

..................................................

This CD is very minimal, but it's also very well done. The beat in the first track sets a nice groove that you can really get into. It's a great lead in to the rest of the album. There is also some very very deep bass in here... if you're trying out subwoofers Gyral is the perfect CD to bring along. The songs are very rhythmic and it sets a great mood overall. Very cool. Forever Turning is kind of screwed up, but you might like it depending on how much you like the strange effects on the drums. Personally, that's my least favorite track, but there are some really great ones on here like Stairway. There is also one track where the beat is sculpted out of some metallic clunking sounds; that one absolutely rules. Overall, this CD is excellent. Forever Turning is not really that bad, and the rest of the tracks are great. Gyral is some good stuff.

Matt Feusner