Korypheus – Gilgamesh
Release Date: 26th September 2025
Label: M-Theory Audio
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Metal
FFO: Gojira, Ne Obliviscaris, Haken, Jinjer.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Gilgamesh is an interesting and dynamic progressive offering by Ukrainian experimental death metal act Korypheus, expected to be released September 26 on M-Theory Audio. The album blends progressive “djenty” guitar prog seen in acts like Jinjer and Gojira, with a dual vocal soft/harsh mix that gives listeners a strong prog-death experience. Overall, I think it’s a fun album that should tickle the prog nerves for fans of the genre. I think that Gilgamesh is an above-average offering that might not necessarily be something for everyone to consider, but absolutely needs to be in the rotation for prog metal fans this month.
The main comparison that I want to make is to Gojira and Jinjer. If you are a fan of either of those acts, there’s no way that you’re going to want to miss this album. There’s a great clean vocal section that reminds me a little bit of Chad Gray from Mudvayne or the vocals of 40 Below Summer. If you’re a fan of Haken, as well, you will likely enjoy the clean delivery, as it tends to have great big chesty tenor, and restrained falsetto sections that bring additional dimensions to the album in a great way that widens the album’s range, musically. I always love hearing artists that give the listener something to chew on, rather than merely spoon-feeding their content to the audience. Gilgamesh is certainly the former in this case.
I think that the main comparison that I want to make with this album is the Gojira parallel. There’s a lot of that same DNA, which combines a lot of Nu-Metal influence into the proggy flavor. One of the tracks where this is most prevalent is Icarus, a track where lots of groove beats are used in combination with that super-heavy 7-string djenty vibe. If you like that same type of inspiration, you’re not going to want to miss that groove-centered track. I honestly would have liked to hear some heavier, denser extreme metal tracks, but I am not sure if that would have played into the whole tone that Gilgamesh was going for. The band certainly has the chops for a heavier sound, but the album is more of an expression of faster-paced, groovy prog metal.
One of the things that I noted was that most of the tracks come in under 4 minutes (at least to my non-timed perception), almost feeling like singles. When it comes to prog, there’s no shortage of 11 minute tracks, for the most part. Not having a few of them was a little bit disappointing, as I think that the band shows lots of promise to be able to bring the listeners in and out of a nice long cinematic flow. I also wished that there were a few more guitar solos, something that I have come to expect in prog-based albums like this. While not every prog band is going to fit the mold, something I understand completely, I also think that there are some sonic staples that push all the musical paragraphs together into a cohesive work. That all being said, there was a beautiful guitar solo on Avatar, one of the final tracks, which I thought was just killer. Perhaps I’m just someone who wanted quite a bit more of that same piece.
Overall, the album is fun and easily-listenable. The tracks are short and don’t take a lot to digest. There’s plenty of musical power as well as extreme metal grit to get the blood pumping. Gilgamesh is an album which certainly will appeal to Gojira and djenty-prog fans with its girthy guitars and wide vocal pallet.
(3.5 / 5)
