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Gorguts: Obscura
11/02/09 || The Duff
Some very big words tend to surround this disc, such as “If I could only have one disc in my collection…”; few fail to remark how fucked up it is, succumb to its power or simply be crushed to death by its monolithic force. Big words, oh baby: MO-NO-LI-THIC. To think that this was released before the New Millennium frightens me, as Luc Lemay had with this effort completely transformed his band (at this point with an entirely new line-up due to difficulties with Roadrunner Records) from being a marginally overshadowed tech death band into a dark, twisted, breathing machine with the ability to pulverize with seriously unorthodox, heavy music that went beyond pushing the boundaries – this disc transcends words like “mindfuckery” and “atonal”, even though I’m going to use these two words specifically ad nausea throughout the remainder of the review; I don’t read much, y’know, and so have a limited vocab – fuck you, suck on my mind-fuckery man-organ.
This atonal disc is anarchic, to say the least; Immolation play a dark breed of music for sure, but Gorguts up the level of “What the fuck just happened?” occurrences. If it weren’t for the dry, non-lacquered and beefy production, I would even say that the music on “Obscura” borders the beautiful while retaining the hypnotic nature of classic Immolation. Luc churns out noises on the guitar that are a feat unto themselves, so how they’re executed and so professionally integrated into the full body of work – the album’s entirety – escapes me. Layering all this material (along with classical instrumentation to boot) and making it flow continuously could only come from a seriously gifted musician with a dark-seeded vision – after hearing “Scream Bloody Gore”, Luc has been quoted as saying he wanted to write music as evil as Chuck’s, but this goes so far and beyond.
As for the new musicians, they surpass whatever came before; the band’s purpose has never been technicality-driven, but “Obscura” contains some of the most impressive guitar wizardry to be found in death metal – funny thing is, the pace for the most part is very drawn out. Patrick Robert is far more blast-happy than Stephane Provencher, and overall it gives a greater sense of unity to the band; Gorguts always seems to be much like Luc’s project from the first two albums and even with “From Wisdom to Hate”, much like Death was to Chuck with everything from “Leprosy” onwards, I guess – this is utter bullshit, of course, but the arrangement of musicians seems to work far more successfully than on any other Gorguts outing here, just one reason for which I consider this to be the band’s quintessential album; another reason is that the record is completely unparalleled – the style, the atmosphere, the ways in which even the most mind-fuckery sections are integrated to the fullest effect in weaving the sonic equivalent of the colours black and grey, pinch harmonics like you’ve never heard them (still pinch harmonics, fuck you I’m being creative), and then even the vocals (nothing compares to Luc’s performance on “Obscura”, and although someone such as V.I.T.R.I.O.L of Anaal Nathrakh could rival the degree of dementedness, the agony exhibited on this album is a lot calmer, more measured, making it far more likely to cause unease), all together to form a slow-paced course to an Hellish demise that no other band has replicated since.
If I were to list gripes, it would be that “Clouded” drags for too long, and because of the album’s nature, it isn’t for every day use. You could say the same for Neurosis and Immolation, but really, this shit ain’t catchy, it ain’t even standard-heavy; it’s psychologically draining, and despite its musical merits, can really make you ponder as to why you wake up every morning for the same fucken bowl of frosted flakes. Big words like “If I could just have the one album in my collection…?”, probably not as you’d end your life before sunset, but an album your collection can’t be without most definitely (can we say “pretentious review?”); listen if you want to experience a mild form of dementia, and thank fuck you ain’t the guy provisioning this shit.
10 beastly CD’s that will give you memory lapses out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 1998
- Label: Olympic Records
- Website: www.gorguts.com
- Band
- Luc Lemay: guitars, vocals
- Steeve Hurdle: guitars, vocals
- Steve Cloutier: bass
- Patrick Robert: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Obscura
- 02. Earthly Love
- 03. The Carnal State
- 04. Nostalgia
- 05. The Art of Sombre Ecstasy
- 06. Clouded
- 07. Subtle Body
- 08. Rapturous Grief
- 09. La Vie Est Prélude…
- 10. Illuminatus
- 11. Faceless Ones
- 12. Sweet Silence
