So now I may review GOD, which of course has always been the ultimate wet dream of a critic. A tad dissappointing however is that this particular entity consists of six mere mortals with the sole ambition to entertain mankind for 27 minutes with their five-song release, called Hell & Heaven. So I’ll give it my best to figure out how these earthlings approach the grand scheme of things on their EP.

The main musicians of GOD are originally from Romania where they presumably attained a cult status as a gothic metal act. They recently moved to Portugal to continue their quest for glory, gathered a new following and renewed their concept. At first glance GOD seems to have delivered something worth trying (of course I couldn’t resist a smile penning down this sentence); the band is reasonably skillful and at times reaches succesfully for that typical gothic metal atmosphere. The core of their musical revelation essentially boils down to a mid-period Moonspell jumping on the folk/viking metal bandwagon, while occasionally falling back on some basic heavy metal arrangements.

To accomplish this they utilize quite elementary chopping riffs, thick layers of keys and clean chanting vocals as well as grunts, which is all overtopped by a prolific lead guitarist. With the confluence of the divine, gothic, folk/viking, traditional and, let’s not forget, the biker (‘Riders from Hell - Hells Angels version’) themes, this might be one of the most eclectic of bands that ever crossed my path. Which is, alas, in the case of God, a chique way to introduce the statement that while doing almost everything, they refrain excelling in one: Hell & Heaven dwells in inconsistency and wavers like a powerless incarnation of just too many different ideas. Although I must admit that the song ‘Riders Of Hell & Heaven’ has a nice vocal line and the introductory solo of the opener ‘The Promised Land’ is a decent way to break the ice, the fact that GOD is not able to craft an imaginative blend, and at times hits as many false notes as right ones, pushes the EP below average.

Heaven or Hell? I’d say this God needs some contemplation in purgatory for the time being…