Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Game Over
Label: Self-released
Release: 2008
Slovenian metal veterans will probably remember Game Over well, a band formed way back in 1988. In their (way too) short career they put out the cult demo Tilt!, which is a real collector’s item today, and then sank into oblivion. But last month Santa Claus and Grandpa Frost delivered a real surprise – Game Over are back! A studio album is planned for the near future, heralded by the single Eclectric.
Eclectric packs four tracks into 15 minutes that fly by far too fast, painting a colorful musical picture in a short quarter of an hour. Opener The Version takes us on a breakneck ride, its fast tempo practically forcing you to headbang. Apart from the occasional vocals in a few spots, Eclectric is instrumental perfection, woven from a whole arsenal of instruments that already show their true colors on The Version. The driving force of the track is great riffs backed by the pompous sound of guitar synths, an incredibly varied rhythm section that offers a fantastic foundation with an unbelievably groovy bass with a very appealing, warm tone, and killer drums full of fills and dynamics. Ghosts adds a detached, “spacy” feel to the track with occasional vocals and screaming, taking it to a whole new level, and a sax in the closing section carries the track off. The core of Game Over is the trio of Aleksander Miklič, Gregor Rožič and Klemen Gasar, who prove there’s great chemistry between them, poured into music made special by interesting arrangements and compositional variety. Tilt! is, in the style of the first track, another guitar blaster that runs so well it hooks you to the point where you could listen to the sadly only two-minute song countless times. If the first half of the single, with The Version and Tilt!, is the wild, metal side with galloping horsepower, the second half, starting with No One, is a Sunday drive. With No One the record shifts into completely different realms of jazz/rock fusion, with “chill out” guitars, an excellent bass groove and spacey keyboards. The single ends all too soon with the ambient Lost… …in Scapes/Virtual, whose at times mysterious and mystical keyboards recall the soundtrack of some sci-fi movie, before tipping over into soothing birdsong. Personally, I’d have preferred another minute or so of great music in their place, but even though those effects seem to stick out a bit from the overall sound at first, they make a fitting end to the album.
Finally, it’s definitely worth mentioning the superb production by Dali Sterniša and DB Studios, which gives the album a much-needed charm that many bands lack. Game Over have more than enough of it, and I can easily say that the album, due out at the end of the month or in February, is my most anticipated release. Game Over, welcome back!
Lineup
Aleksander Miklič: guitar synths, bass, e-bow guitar
Gregor Rožič: bass, bass synth, e-bow bass
Klemen Gasar: guitar, 5150 amp controls
Blaž Soklič: drums
Frenk: sax
Grule: birds&insects
Fatso: V-Drum tom FX
Ghosts: vocals
Production
Dali Sterniša and Eclectric Ensemble
Tracklist
1. The Version (edit)
2. Tilt! (edit)
3. No One
4. Lost… …in Spaces/Virtual (Too Long Lost in Virtual Scapes Version)
