Gorguts has always been that WTF band for me. You know, that band you show to your friends, “
Oh hey you want to hear some of the scary music I listen to? Hehehe take a gander at this…" There’s something about the barked and wailing vocals, the crunchy bass and the dissonant guitars that make nonmetalheads and even some metalheads just say “
What the virgin fuck?” But they’re definitely more than just that. They weave an intricate tapestry of dissonance and distortion that is much more technical than it is anything else. When you think of
Gorguts, you think of
Obscura (sorry
Erosion of Sanity wimps) and it’s lesser known brother
From Wisdom to Hate… . Most listeners, upon first listen, are immediately turned off by the noises contained within. But for those of us who go, “
Why the fuck do people like this? What am I missing?” will go back and listen to it in it’s entirety and discover a treasure trove of golden riffs and gemmed hooks that will have you spending endless hours listening.
Forget what you thought
Death Metal was. Forget it. In fact, I want you to stand up out of your chair and say “
Fuck normal music”. Did you do it? Probably not. Dick. But you’re gonna need to think that way if you ever want to enjoy
Gorguts. Ever since their debut demo ...
And Then Comes Lividity in 1990, they have been heralded as the fathers of
Technical Death Metal. Albeit technical, it was pretty straightforward death metal. They didn’t become an amalgam of oddity until their climax album
Obscura in 1998, and trust me, it’s odd (and my favorite death metal album). 2001 showed us From Wisdom to Hate... which is the sonic brother to the titan of
Obscura. And then unfortunately, as it is in most band’s wont, came a hiatus until 2008. Thankfully as soon as
Luc Lemay (the only consistent member) announced their reunion, they stated that a new album would “start recording in 2010”.
Let me fucking tell you guys, it was well worth the wait. If I could use one word to describe
Colored Sands, it would be crushing. This album just crushes under the weight of huge fucking riffs that just crunch and echo along as you bang your head in symbiotic rhythm. See,
Gorguts have never been a fast band, but what they lack in speed they make up for in huge dissonant melodies that take your body along for the ride. And when they do get fast, they do it just as goddamn good as anyone else can (See
Enemies of Compassion).
As the album begins we’re immediately greeted with what
Gorguts does best, highly complicated and dissonant guitar and blasting drums. These quickly melt away into reverb-y, whisper-like vocals accompanied by the jammiest little clean guitar riff which then quickly erupts into more technicality with the ferocity of a colored sandstorm. The whole point of
Gorguts is their excellent interplay between melody and dissonance. That is where they shine. You’ll find yourself completely absorbed in each and every track on this album, especially if you listen to it in order.
Gorguts have always had a fascination with the violin and this is yet again made apparent in the song
The Battle of Chamdo which is 4 minutes and 43 seconds of an epic violin piece. It's placed just perfectly right after the title track
Colored Sands that it might have well be one 12 minute epic. The star of the album, in my opinion, would have to be either
Forgotten Arrows or
Enemies of Compassion. Every song is just too damn good.
It’s scary when older bands stop playing, come back 10 years later, and announce a new album. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s an abomination. Othertimes however, it fucking kicks ass. This would be the latter of those times.
Gorguts comes back with a facemelter of an album and folks, I daresay, it may be their best yet.
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Misery Index premiered their title track yesterday from the forthcoming release of The Killing Gods via Sick Drummer Magazine. It's pretty darn good... check it out.
Aborted, ‘The Necrotic Manifesto’ (Century Media)
Death, ‘Leprosy’ Reissue (Relapse)
Insomnium, ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun’ (Century Media)
Schammasch, ‘Contradiction’ (Prosthetic)
