Review by Lynxie on December 8, 2023.

The moment that I saw my favorite Italian stalwarts Derdian’s eighth studio release named New Era Part IV - Resurgence I had some premonition that this would be reminiscent, as the call-back to their earlier trilogy was inevitable. Not that I’m complaining in any ways; after all, I have faith in them to never walk down Sabaton’s path of destruction.

And I was not disappointed -- indeed songs like 'Dorian' or 'Resurgence' are the perfect resurgence of early anthems along the line of 'I Don’t Wanna Die', blistering on with all the neoclassical glory the Italian side could muster. The fantastical mood scattered about in just the right places. Whereas the likes of 'The Evil Messiah' or 'Derdian' could well be 'Write Your Epitaph' substitutes. Though I still find the sudden acoustic moment the former had towards the end jarring, albeit intriguing. I guess the best assertion I can make is that the overall formula is just pure Derdian goodness: classic Rhapsody-influenced neoclassical power metal with just a slight touch of experimental moments like the closing Limbo-reminiscent 'Astar Will Come Back'. It’s without doubt all epicness, but all catchiness as well. Besides, Pistolese can be fucking heavy with the riffs. And the devil’s presence made for some pretty neck-snapping, extreme moments on 'Black Typhoon' as he growled out his lines.

The only prior fear I had was due to the exit of one of my favorite keyboardists, Marco Garau. And yes, there is some obvious depletion with the keyboard works, especially my favorite sort of keyboard-guitar duels. Nevertheless, with Pistolese behind the songwriting Derdian’s glory is not diminished in one bit and I rest assured. Keys are the addendum for me at any rate, while I’ll always enjoy just some plain slick soloing like those on 'Resurgence' with the orchestra in the background. And to hear a ballad-gone-heavy number like 'All Is Lost' is a new experience for me with Derdian for sure.

All in all it would seem a lot of bands are making their comeback these days. First ‘Freedom Call is BACK!’ with their live album, now Derdian has proved themselves 'stronger than ever’ as part 4 of the Era Sagas drops after more than a decade. What next? Gamma Ray making a re-emergence? It’s a thought, my friends, it’s a thought. Now if only I could get my hands on physical copies of Derdian’s first three albums and get to know the lores that would be perfect.

Highlights: 'The Evil Messiah', 'Black Typhoon', 'Resurgence', 'Derdian'

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Arek on August 8, 2016.

This year is an extremely fertile one if it comes to high flying grind. At the beginning of the year Unborn Suffer fired out Nihilist, later a great album by Rotten Sound, and now Gadget. If Dead Infection eventually decides to reveal their hidden and long awaited opus magnum to us, I’m going to have to call 2016 the year of the grind.

The Great Destroyer is only the third album in nearly 20-year history of those grinding Swedes. Gadget never has sinned with regularity and consistency with the production of their publications and for the last one, quartet led by William Blackmon, had us wait for 10 full years. The Great Destroyer includes 17 tracks, lasting a total of less than 27 minutes. Third album, similarly to previous productions of the Swedes, provides a solid wall of sound strongly aggravating hearing apparatus. It's actually a 16-series mini-gun shot completed with sludge-stoner explosion. William Blackmon himself made sure of the quality of the recordings and I have to say that this is the best music publishing/production of Gadget, including the album cover. The sound is extremely readable, but at the same time harsh and coarse just like this kind of music should have.

I dare to say with full responsibility that this is a very good album worthy of attention of not only fans of grind core, but all the maniacs of heavy sounds. Although Gadget Anno Domini 2016 is mainly early Napalm/Nasum grind, we find a lot of slow sections (beginning to From Graduation To Devastation, In The Name Of Suffering), and ending I Don't Need You/Dead And Gone, it's one big, psychedelic drone lasting five and a half minutes.

Favored tracks: Pillars Of Filth with the theme a'la Carcass, death-like The Great Destroyer, The Lack Of Humanity and Svart Hål. We also cannot forget to mention of the friendly participation of Barney Greenway of Napalm Death on Violent Hours (For A Veiled Awakening). To sum it up The Great Destroyer is a heck of a decent grind record with a tight punk/death metal character. Maybe it isn’t groundbreaking, maybe not too original, but what a beating it provides!!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on April 5, 2016.

Gadget put the pedal to the metal with their grindcore style. This is fast music that has a great deal of style regardless. It is similar to Nasum and their ability to wreak havoc to everything possible.

Sure, the music zooms by at a million miles an hour, but what’s not to like about that? This is grind in the purest sense of the word. It is also at its most abrasive, which is nice. There is a noticeable buildup of tempo and feeling from the beginning of the disc that culminates in the final track I Don’t Need You - Dead and Gone. This fiery nature continues to be a strong point for bands of this genre and the progression of this feeling on the disc is interesting. There is certainly an aggressive approach to the band that flows well throughout the length of this release. Whether they are as dynamic as Nasum is a mystery, but they are certainly as abrasive. It’s very welcome to hear this type of grind approach working out and it catches the listener’s attention greatly. The guitar riffs are very strong and catapult this release instrumentally. The rest of the instruments fill in their place and make this a well-rounded listen overall. It all results in a violent listen that is well-balanced. There is truly a method behind this madness and it complements the overall picture nicely. The song-writing is fairly strong and blends nicely with the abrasive nature to be found here.

When all is said and done we are left with a solid grind recording. It isn’t overly long which might lead some listeners to prefer to hear more material. Standout tracks are hard to determine, but the title track is a mighty one that features a cool breakdown towards the end. Grind fans will be left happy with The Great Destroyer.

Rating: 8 out of 10