Metalcatto
Aeons ago, when the members of Gorguts released another great Death Metal album, little did they know they would eventually help invent one of the most influential subgenres in the game: Disso-Death. Now, with no guarantee that we’ll ever get another Gorguts album, it’s time to rank the ones we have.
5. Considered Dead: It’s not that this album sucks, but it’s definitely mid compared to what the band would do later. Sure, it’s crusty, decadent, and technical. It has that classic early-’90s production, but is it really that different in its historical context? It doesn’t stand out as particularly better than, say, Morbid Angel or Obituary back then. It’s almost safe. And you don’t want safe when you’re dealing with weird Death Metal.
4. The Erosion of Sanity: So, basically the same thing as before, but with more detail and money spent on the production. In almost any other band, this would be a highlight. Gorguts explored the hell out of this style. The guys had two choices: become Cryptopsy or Suffocation and keep doing variations of the same thing, or violently break away from tradition. Even here, the band was already showing signs that it wanted to do more than just mindless blasting.
3. From Wisdom to Hate: Without a doubt, the worst artwork in Gorguts‘ catalogue. Jokes aside, this album contains some of the most creative tracks the band has ever written. How do you even write something like “Inverted”? Here, Gorguts showed that it could consistently defy the limits of extreme Metal. If I have one complaint, it’s that the songwriting is slightly less memorable than on other albums in the band’s catalogue.
2. Colored Sands: Maybe I’ll catch some flak for this, but I think Colored Sands represents Gorguts at the peak of their maturity. It’s the most Progressive and Avant-Garde the band has ever sounded. The tracks aren’t just brutal and lengthy; they create an atmosphere that’s incredibly difficult to replicate. It’s also the most conceptually ambitious album these guys have put together. Questioning Tibet’s commitment to non-violent resistance is a bold move, to say the least.
1. Obscura: Was there ever any doubt? This is the album that changed the game. Decades later, this thing could still melt your brain. Luc Lemay took inspiration from classical music and proceeded to deconstruct Metal. Bye Bye to Triads, tonality, and 4×4. All that boring theory most Metalheads would rather skip became the building blocks of something entirely different. The music was reconstructed to fit our brutal aesthetics. Even today, bands like Ulcerate and Artificial Brain owe a debt to this album.
Alright, see you next time, when we’ll get nostalgic about another band’s glory days.
