History Music / Gorguts

** Marston actually released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdQdwbgyqYg this bass-and-drums-only mix]] of ''Colored Sands'', which unsurprisingly sounds a lot like the works of the Japanese ProgressiveRock bass-and-drums duo Ruins. The mix reveals some nuances that are somewhat lost behind the rich wall-of-sound production of the album proper - the sometimes melodic core of Marston's bass lines is more apparent here, and it's possible to hear Longstreth's ghost notes much more clearly. Also, Marston's playing style and especially his EQ often end up sounding like those of the late, lamented Music/{{Yes}} bassist Chris Squire (check out the ''Yessongs'' version of "The Fish" for proof that Squire's playing could get ''heavy'' when the mood was right). In any case, the bass-and-drums mix is a fascinating listen in its own right and may give listeners even more appreciation for the album proper as well. He's also posted video footage of live-in-the-studio performances of the bass tracks to ''[[https://youtu.be/mHm56uabR_4 Pleiades' Dust]]'', "[[https://youtu.be/6XkRMqNNDx4 Le toit du monde]]", "[[https://youtu.be/o5DAN98GBi0 An Ocean of Wisdom]]", and "[[https://youtu.be/jsyQeuVpIbs Forgotten Arrows]]".

** Marston actually released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdQdwbgyqYg this bass-and-drums-only mix]] of ''Colored Sands'', which unsurprisingly sounds a lot like the works of the Japanese ProgressiveRock bass-and-drums duo Ruins. The mix reveals some nuances that are somewhat lost behind the rich wall-of-sound production of the album proper - the sometimes melodic core of Marston's bass lines is more apparent here, and it's possible to hear Longstreth's ghost notes much more clearly. Also, Marston's playing style and especially his EQ often end up sounding like those of the late, lamented Music/{{Yes}} bassist Chris Squire (check out the ''Yessongs'' version of "The Fish" for proof that Squire's playing could get ''heavy'' when the mood was right). In any case, the bass-and-drums mix is a fascinating listen in its own right and may give listeners even more appreciation for the album proper as well.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally in the hard 10 area, with ''Obscura'' being the hardest out of the lot due to its noisiness. Portions of their works could be considered to reach 11, with "Clouded" probably being their heaviest track due to its incredibly slow, downtuned, tortured main riff. It's practically a funeral doom song.

* WolverinePublicity: Patrice Hamelin. Basically, if you're from Quebec and play death metal, odds are that he will either join your band or fill in for your drummer live at some point. His unbelievable technical skill and ability to learn large amounts of songs very quickly doesn't hurt either.

** Starting with ''Obscura'', they ditched the old-school sound from the previous albums to their noisy, off-kilter, and frequently bizarre style of tech.
** ''From Wisdom to Hate'' mixed elements of both ''Obscura'' and the two older albums before the latter.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Negativa was intended to be this. Steeve Hurdle and (for a time) Luc Lemay were both members (Lemay left and reformed Gorguts because he wasn't as interested in the improvisational elements of Negativa's music). Unfortunately, Hurdle's death put a stop to that. The band did release one twenty-minute EP, which is great in its own right and very similar in both style and musical quality to ''Obscura''.

* NewSoundAlbum:

* GratuitousFrench: The song title "La Vie est prélude... (la mort, orgasme)" translates as "Life Is Prelude (Death, Orgasm)". It is worth noting that the French use the phrase "la petite mort" ("the little death") as a euphemism for orgasm. JustifiedTrope, since the band are from Quebec.

* DrugsAreBad: Hard drugs, anyway. Evidently MacDonald developed a problem with hard drugs toward the end of his life that he was never able to climb out of. The other band members have speculated that this may have been a factor in his suicide.

In 2008, however, Lemay reformed the band with yet another new lineup. Within that time up till 2013, they had been working on new material, which was leaked 2 months in advance, with label Season of Mist releasing a digital release a month after. The band's fifth album, 2013's ''Colored Sands'', is a ConceptAlbum about the history and culture of UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}}, with greater influence from ProgressiveMetal acts such as Music/PorcupineTree and Music/{{Opeth}} and a greater emphasis on dynamic shifts. The album also contains a neoclassical instrumental performed by a string quartet, "The Battle of Chamdo". It has received great acclaim.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Negativa was intended to be this. Steeve Hurdle and (for a time) Luc Lemay were both members (Lemay left and reformed Gorguts because he wasn't as interested in the improvisational elements of Negativa's music). Unfortunately, Hurdle's death put a stop to that. The band did release one twenty-minute EP, which is pretty great.

Gorguts are a Canadian [[AvantGardeMetal Avant-Garde]] TechnicalDeathMetal band. They formed in 1989 with Luc Lemay (vocals and guitar), Sylvain Marcoux (guitar), Éric Giguère (bass guitar) and Stephane Provencher (drums) as the original lineup. After a deal struck with Roadrunner with their demo, they released their debut album in 1991, later being released in 2004 along with the sophomore effort following suit. The first two albums are old-school death metal and are regarded as atypical efforts for the band, although many (perhaps most) fans still regard them very highly. The band began to experiment more with their sound on the second album, incorporating pianos and acoustic guitars on their sound, although it was nothing compared to what would come next.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Compared to what would follow, ''Considered Dead'' and to a lesser extent ''The Erosion of Sanity'' are very traditional death metal, as opposed to the band's later work. (Perhaps this is better described as an example of "early instalment ''lack of'' weirdness".)

The songs the band composed for their third album, ''Obscura'', were a complete departure from anything they or anyone else had done (arguably, only Music/{{Demilich}} had done anything remotely comparable), and consequentially, they had a difficult time finding a record label to release their material. Their new material essentially dispensed with any traditional metal conceptions of melody, using 20th-century Classical composers such as Music/DmitriShostakovich and Music/KrzysztofPenderecki as inspirations, plus Eastern musical traditions (particularly Indian). As a result, the album sounds incredibly dissonant and atonal to first-time listeners, though most songs do eventually reveal melodic hooks after repeated listening. The album is generally considered their GrowingTheBeard moment (fittingly, because the album cover depicts a bearded man sitting in the lotus position) where they established their SignatureSound, and not merely their greatest work but one of the greatest DeathMetal albums of all time, if not the greatest. (It has also been repeatedly compared to Music/CaptainBeefheart's ''Music/TroutMaskReplica'', almost to the point of MemeticMutation.) Although many of the songs were written as early as 1993,[[note]]The last two songs composed, ironically enough, were the TitleTrack and "Nostalgia", two of the best-known songs on the album[[/note]] the album would not appear until 1998. By this point, Lemay was the only original member left.

The songs the band composed for their third album, ''Obscura'', were a complete departure from anything they or anyone else had done (arguably, only Music/{{Demilich}} had done anything remotely comparable), and consequentially, they had a difficult time finding a record label to release their material. Their new material essentially dispensed with any traditional metal conceptions of melody, using 20th-century Classical composers such as Music/DmitriShostakovich and Music/KrzysztofPenderecki as inspirations, plus Eastern musical traditions (particularly Indian). As a result, the album sounds incredibly dissonant and atonal to first-time listeners, though most songs do eventually reveal melodic hooks after repeated listening. The album is generally considered their GrowingTheBeard moment (fittingly, because the album cover depicts a bearded man sitting in the lotus position) where they established their SignatureSound, and not merely their greatest work but one of the greatest DeathMetal albums of all time, if not the greatest. Although many of the songs were written as early as 1993,[[note]]The last two songs composed, ironically enough, were the TitleTrack and "Nostalgia", two of the best-known songs on the album[[/note]] the album would not appear until 1998. By this point, Lemay was the only original member left.

Gorguts are a Canadian [[AvantGardeMetal Avant-Garde]] TechnicalDeathMetal band. They formed in 1989 with Luc Lemay (vocals and guitar), Sylvain Marcoux (guitar), Éric Giguère (bass guitar) and Stephane Provencher (drums) as the original lineup. After a deal struck with Roadrunner with their demo, they released their debut album in 1991, later being released in 2004 along with the sophomore effort following suit. The first two albums are old-school death metal and are regarded as atypical efforts for the band, although many fans still regard them very highly.

The songs the band composed for their third album, ''Obscura'', were a complete departure from anything they or anyone else had done (arguably, only Music/{{Demilich}} had done anything remotely comparable), and consequentially, they had a difficult time finding a record label to release their material. Their new material essentially dispensed with any traditional metal conceptions of melody, using 20th-century Classical composers such as Music/DmitriShostakovich and Music/KrzysztofPenderecki as inspirations, plus Eastern musical traditions (particularly Indian). As a result, the album sounds incredibly dissonant and atonal to first-time listeners, though most songs do eventually reveal melodic hooks after repeated listening. The album is generally considered their GrowingTheBeard moment (fittingly, because the album cover depicts a bearded man sitting in the lotus position) and not merely their greatest work but one of the greatest DeathMetal albums of all time, if not the greatest. Although many of the songs were written as early as 1993,[[note]]The last two songs composed, ironically enough, were the TitleTrack and "Nostalgia", two of the best-known songs on the album[[/note]] the album would not appear until 1998. By this point, Lemay was the only original member left.

* Steve [=MacDonald=] (RIP 2002) – drums (1993–1995, 1998–2002)

* LeadBassist, LeadDrummer: As is commonly the case for TechnicalDeathMetal, the bassist and drummer are as important to the music as the guitarists, no matter the lineup.
* LoudnessWar: Played straight on the CD versions of ''Obscura'' and ''From Wisdom to Hate'' (both [=DR5=]), which is likely intended to make the sound of those albums even more dense and impenetrable, but averted on the LP versions (both of which are [=DR10=] in the War on Music pressings, and probably at similar ranges on the Century Media ones). Also averted on ''Colored Sands'' and ''Pleiades' Dust'' (respectively [=DR9 and DR8=] on their CD versions), which probably isn't much of a surprise to anyone familiar with Colin Marston's mastering on other bands' works.

The songs the band composed for their third album, ''Obscura'', were a complete departure from anything they or anyone else had done (arguably, only Music/{{Demilich}} had done anything remotely comparable), and consequentially, they had a difficult time finding a record label to release their material. Although many of the songs were written as early as 1993, the album would not appear until 1998. By this point, Lemay was the only original member left. When Steeve Hurdle left, the band got yet another new lineup, which appeared on their fourth album ''From Wisdom to Hate''. Tragically, drummer Steve [=MacDonald=] ended his life in 2002, leading to Gorguts' split.

In 2008, however, Lemay reformed the band with yet another new lineup. Within that time up till 2013, they had been working on new material, which was leaked 2 months in advance, with label Season of Mist releasing a digital release a month after.

As of March 2014, John Longstreth is no longer a member, as his schedule with Music/{{Origin}} was incompatible with that of Gorguts. Patrice Hamelin has been manning the kit live since 2011, and is now credited as an official member in the packaging of ''Pleiades' Dust''.

The songs the band composed for their third album, ''Obscura'', were a complete departure from anything they or anyone else had done, and consequentially, they had a difficult time finding a record label to release their material. Although many of the songs were written as early as 1993, the album would not appear until 1998. By this point, Lemay was the only original member left. When Steeve Hurdle left, the band got yet another new lineup, which appeared on their fourth album ''From Wisdom to Hate''. Tragically, drummer Steve [=MacDonald=] ended his life in 2002, leading to Gorguts' split.

* AvantGardeMetal: They are credited with bringing avant-garde influences into DeathMetal. Other bands before them, such as Demilich, had already done this to a certain extent, but arguably no one had done this to the extent that Gorguts did with ''Obscura''.

In 1993, activity ceased until 1998, with ''Obscura'' being released, with Lemay being the only original member left. When Hurdle left, Lemay got yet another new lineup. Steve [=MacDonald=] commited suicide in 2002, leading to Gorguts' split.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Quite a few people have been members over the years.

* AltumVidetur: The chorus of "Obscura" is in Latin.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally in the hard 10 area, with ''Obscura'' being the hardest out of the lot due to its noisiness. Portions of their works could be considered to reach 11.

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Several transitions on ''Colored Sands'' and ''From Wisdom to Hate'' do this (some specific examples on ''From Wisdom'' are listed below under SiameseTwinSongs). "Obscura" also fades into "Earthly Love".

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Compared to what would follow, ''Considered Dead'' and to a lesser extent ''The Erosion of Sanity'' are very traditional death metal, as opposed to the band's later work.

** ''Pleiades' Dust'' in spades, returning to the ''Obscura'' sound and being more abstract than that. Hell, many fans have began to compare the music to that of Music/DeathspellOmega.

* ConceptAlbum: ''Colored Sands'' explores Tibet and its relation to the outside world. ''Pleiades' Dust'' looks to be about the Middle East and ''its'' relation to the outside world.

* UncommonTime: Plentiful, as is par for the course with TechnicalDeathMetal, although sometimes they'll subvert it. ''Pleiades' Dust'' has a lot of passages that sound really complex rhythmically, but when you count them a lot of them come out to 4/4 or 6/8; they're just divided in unusual manners (such as 7/8 alternating with 9/8).