In my opinion, the closest that modern music can come (at least in form and composition) to the works of classical composers such as Mozart or Beethoven, is undoubtedly technical death metal, and few bands still around today epitomize this relationship better than the Canadian band, Gorguts.
In my opinion, the closest that modern music can come (at least in form and composition) to the works of classical composers such as Mozart or Beethoven, is undoubtedly technical death metal, and few bands still around today epitomize this relationship better than the Canadian band, Gorguts.
Their incredibly turbulent history (including several lengthy lineup changes, being dropped from their original record label after the release of their second album, and two incredibly tragic deaths) could have easily put an end to the band several times, if not for the persistence of founding member and guitarist/vocalist Luc Lemay. The bands current lineup includes bassist Colin Marston (of Behold…the Arctopus and Krallice), drummer John Longstreth (of Origin), and guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (of Dysrhythmia).
The latest Gorguts album, Colored Sands (which was released digitally back in August following it being leaked online and released in hard format on September 3rd), is the first studio release from the band since 2001, and stands to be one of the best examples of the bands versatility to date. This album showcases not only the bands impressive technical ability but also their creativity.
The first song, “Le Toit du Monde” (translated roughly as “The Top of The World”) opens the album with driving and rhythmic instrumentation, laced with ambient, reverb-heavy, guitar riffs and eerie backing vocals just before blasting into the classically ferocious sound traditional for Gorguts. The title track, as well as the final song “Reduced to Silence”, both follow a similar organization and give the album incredible cohesiveness as not only a beautifully composed piece of art but also as a perfectly thrashing and vicious example of what technical death metal can be at its best.
Undoubtedly my favorite part of the entire album though comes on about twenty-seven and a half minutes in with the fifth track, “The Battle of Chamdo”, which is a classical piece written by Lemay and recorded with a string quartet. It’s certainly not often that my favorite song on a death metal album doesn’t feature speedy double bass-pedaling or shredding guitar riffs (let alone no drums or guitars at all), but this song is just so well written that I can’t help but love it.
Colored Sands has not only given Gorguts yet another new start but is also a hell of a lot of fun acoustically. American technical death metal fans can only hope that this isn’t the last we’ve heard from our brothers up north.
