GORGUTS — Pleiades' Dust (review)

EP · 2016 · Technical Death Metal

5/5 · 2016-05-05
siLLy puPPy

Always in a league above the competition, Luc Lemay and his GORGUTS project continue to deliver some of the most innovative and technologically constructed death metal the world has ever heard. Never resting on the legacy of “Obscura” alone, this Canadian band from Quebec always creates exciting releases by combining the most demanding, frenetic and brutal ear abuses while entering myriad intellectual pastures tackling the subject matter of esoteric history in far-flung geographical places such as “Tibet” such as on the previous release “Colored Sands.” On the follow-up PLEIADES’ DUST, an EP which is basically a solo track clocking in at 32:59, Lemay and company dish out a concept telling the tale of the “House Of Wisdom,” which references the rise and fall of a library based in Baghdad in the periods between the 8th and 13th centuries and it’s importance in containing ancient knowledge that contributed to many scientific discoveries including algebra, astronomy as well as other disciplines that aided and abetted Europe to evolve past the dark ages and into the Renaissance.

Always based on evocative intellectual subject matter, the likes of which are once again competently accompanied by the signature brutality complete with Lemay’s grizzled growls laced with atmospheric passages, exotic sounds of distant lands and the ever graceful dance of melodies and dissonance swirling about like an oceanic eddy, GORGUTS takes the exotic flair of “Colored Sands” and once again creates a meandering flow of sounds that alternates the brutal death metal aspects with softer passages bringing a Middle Eastern dusty caravan to mind displaying guitarist Kevin Hufnagel and bassist Colin Marston dishing out a strong dual string assault with newcomer drummer Patrice Hamelin picking up where John Longstreth left off and easily duplicating and exceeding his technical percussion abusing skills and creating one of the most important aspects of GORGUTS’ music.

As heard on the more recent albums, if one has an ear for classical music compositional skills it is apparent that Lemay is a gifted composer who utilizes the techniques of the centuries and applies them to suit his music in a death metal context. While the imagery and brilliant album cover created by the renowned Polish artist Zbigniew M. Bielak sync well with the death metal brutality bash and distortion blowout, the ebb and flow of the musical composition lends more to pre-metal past masters rather than contemporaries in the field continuing Lemay’s utter brilliance in juxtaposing these elements into a seemingly effortless manner. The music on PLEIADES’ DUST is excellent at the proper pacing of the more energetic brutal passages and the more subdued cadences. It appears that GORGUTS scores once again in creating a memorable soundtrack to some nebulous place and time from the history books. The musicianship is once again impeccably performed and the segments of the album are well connected and despite literally eschewing all the cliches that a 21st century tech death metal band can fall into, GORGUTS still succeeds in delivering all the death metal goods while wowing us with intense musical workouts delivered with outstanding intellectual eloquence.

more than 2 years ago
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voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

adg211288, thanks. I'll take a look. Though if the first two albums are to be reissued I'll be okay for now.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It's an online marketplace with many sellers so its trustworthiness is based on who you buy from. If it makes you feel safer though they take PayPal (buyer protection) and don't actually pay the individual seller until the buyer has confirmed that they've got the item(s) they ordered.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've been to that site but never actually used them. Guess you're verifying its legitimacy :) ALways scared to order from straaaaange new sites.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This is a site I've seen some rare stuff on: http://www.cdandlp.com/en/

I managed to get a hard to find USPM album from a seller here.

If you see anything that interests you on it send me a PM first. They have a referral program so I can give you and link and a code to get 7 Euro off your first order.

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I'd say 90% of my Amazon orders are placed through importCDs in the marketplace. They usually have the lowest prices and the service is fast (about two weeks from Kentucky to Japan). I'm glad to hear of the re-issues. I actually emailed the band to inquire about re-issues earlier this year but at the time they said that was up to the label and they had no idea.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I should be more specific. Both early albums are being reissued this year and haven't hit the market yet. It looks like you would have to pre-order from here but they have great prices. Unfortunately i have no idea how they handle overseas shipping as i'm in the US

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Amazon is the last place you should look. Discogs is a much better bet but not always happnin'. Check out this link at www.importcds.com, it has both the first two albums on CD at less than $20. Be careful though. I never pre-order because they fuck it up. Also make sure it's in stock when you order or it's a pain to deal with. Otherwise i've had great luck sending them shitloads of my money ;P

http://www.importcds.com/search?q=gorguts&mod=AP

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah, I saw it on Amazon marketplace for something like $250. I found it at Discogs for around $45 but the seller said he doesn't ship outside the U.S. Then he removed the listing. I might have to get them from iTunes. But I'll check out the newer stuff first.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

They released their first two albums on one cd which isn't too expensive last I checked

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

The first two albums cost a vital organ to get now. I've moved Coloured Sands and Obscura to my Amazon shopping cart along with Sacrifice's most recent album. Payday is coming soon...!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Just be aware that the first two albums are closer to technically well played 90s US death metal (Suffocation, Brutality), than they are to Gorguts sound from "Obscura" onwards, which is a more twisted dissonant size.

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've had Gorguts on my radar for a few months now. I really wanted the first two albums. I think it's time to visit Amazon again.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Sounds promising. I remember checking Colored Sands out when it was released and enjoying it, but that's where my knowledge and experience of Gorguts' music ends.

Nightfly wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I want it!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I have no problem waiting, but great to see a review.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It hasn't been released yet but thanks to someone on YouTube i got to hear it completely. Of course i will be buying a real copy but if you just can't wait, go for it!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I´m pretty excited about this one. I´m looking forward to giving it a listen.