Gorguts
Obscura
Olympic
What are they putting into the water in Canada that’s turning all the damn bands into death-wielding psychopaths? As with the bludgeoning death metal scene in the early ’90s or the Bay Area’s wild thrash scene in the late ’80s, Canada is rapidly turning into the new mecca for extreme death metal. In this year alone, Cryptopsy has risen from underground obscurity, Blood Of Christ has released some awe-inspiring demo material, and now, I dig up the latest Gorguts release.
Having been around since the early ’90s death metal explosion, Gorguts has been one of the first Canadian bands to get recognition in the genre. While I’m unfamiliar with their earlier releases on Roadrunner, this latest masterpiece is truly a masterpiece of brutal technical and extremely original death metal.
Luc Lemay’s torturous screams and destructive guitar work are complexly interwoven with recently departed drummer Pat Roberts’ offbeat rhythms and seemingly random blast beats. Along with fellow members Steve (Bass) and Steeve (Guitars and Vocals) the band truly creates a fine mesh of chaotic dark bliss, made totally comprehensive by producer Pierre Remillard, who also produced Cryptopsy’s latest release.
Due to the difficulty of following along with the song structure, this record will take time for even the most hardcore fan to comprehend.
Take that along with the strange beats, the irregular chording and the layered sound and you have one of the most original and brutally complex records of the entire metal genre. This is not your typical straight forward metal band. Even other bands hailed as complex such as Cryptopsy or Suffocation pale in comparison to Gorguts’ latest. Only the most open-minded, hardcore metal fans will be able to appreciate this.
Olympic Recordings, P.O. Box 7217, Elgin, IL 60121-7217; http://www.olyrecords.com
