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Gorguts: Colored sands
25/05/14 || The Duff
Everybody loves Gorguts. Their early classic “Considered Dead” is a sludge-death masterpiece, mixing the straightforward trawl of Obituary with dark riffs, modest musicianship and monolithic, catchy riffs (riffs is what I’m getting at); the follow-up “Erosion of Sanity” drastically upped the musicianship, kept the catchy aesthetic and created some of death metal’s finest anthems, on par with what the New York masters Suffocation were piling out with a less blunt, more sensitive approach.
Then “Obscura” turned the metal-world on its ass, with barbaric, intricate, unwholesome, dissonant bombast; “From Wisdom to Hate”, three years on refined the art, made it less of a head-fuck but rather a melodic, dissonant, wreathing soundscape of twisted dreams. Nine or so years on following four of the finest examples of classic metal records (and work with other band Negativa), and Luc was approached with the question “So why don’t you write a new Gorguts record?”, to which Luc replied “Well yesz, oh-kei, vy not baguettes and get busssy?”.
Testicles were exploded.
And herein lies the genius of Luc Lemay; where Suffocation have hardly faltered since their resurrection, they haven’t yet bettered the albums before their disbanding, and Luc has released with Gorguts, now with newfound members Kevin Hufnagel and Origin’s John Longstreth on drums, an album near flawless that matches the material of the band’s peak of “From Wisdom to Hate” and “Obscura” (RIP Steve Hurdle).
The key to “Colored Sands” is melody, thick, sweet, piled on like corn syrup. The duration of the record is key – eight tracks plus one interlude, quite a large interlude actually, all classical and nod-worthy; you might certainly feel high-brow listening to it, sitting there like The Thinker.
The problem for me comes in the second half of the disc when taking into account that every single track is absolutely gargantuan and gorgeous; by the end of “The Battle of Chamdo”, as much as I have no problem with yet more swarming melody, everything on “Colored Sands” seems to have been said – and that there, perhaps with the exception of “Absconders” which lacks some variation all essentially circling about the one riff, is my only gripe with this record, it is too much of a good thing.
The musicianship is huge, perfect, musically “Colored Sands” is sprawling, epic, and actually not as dissonant as some would have you believe; there is a lot of melody on this record, more so than “From Wisdom to Hate” and certainly more than on “Obscura”, even when the effect is supposed to be a confliction there is always something underlying that is more classical; Gorguts have evolved yet again to create a pinnacle for death metal, it is just such a fucking colossus.
John Longstreth, a welcome addition (his cool-as-cucumbers initiation beat into the rhythmic-beast that is the title track, yes please, more of that thank you), mixing style, atmosphere and intensity exactly as required of him, while Luc sounds a little warmer than we are accustomed to on vocal duties – whether this is a reflection of his lyrics (inscribed by ancient philosophies and historical atrocity) I don’t know, he is more liberating and impassioned than demented.
Album number five in an ever-changing line-up and a constantly evolving formula, you cannot fault Gorguts – this could be your most or least favorite record of theirs, it would not matter, its recognition as a landmark death metal album cannot be overrepresented, and it will certainly be universally loved by anyone who values forward-thinking metal, of which Gorguts have proven to be consistent forerunners.
- Information
- Released: 2013
- Label: Season of Mist
- Website: www.gorguts.com
- Band
- Luc Lemay: guitars, vocals, lyrics
- Kevin Hufnagel: guitars (lead)
- John Longstreth: drums
- Colin Marston: bass
- Tracklist
- 01. Le Toit du Monde
- 02. An Ocean of Wisdom
- 03. Forgotten Arrows
- 04. Colored Sands
- 05. The Battle of Chamdo
- 06. Enemies of Compassion
- 07. Ember’s Voice
- 08. Absconders
- 09. Reduced to Silence
