GORGUTS – COLORED SANDS
Needing no introduction in the death metal arena, Gorguts have been a band that began as traditional death metal with their earliest releases. Now regarded as classics in the genre, Considered Dead and Erosion Of Sanity were fantastic albums but were very much in the safe area of writing, then along came Obscura where the band decided that they would go all out, one of the most experimental death metal records of all time it has been regarded as a melting pot of jazz, death metal and even atmospheric, experimental. Then came From Wisdom To Hate a compromise between the avant garde Obscura and the previous sounds from the first records, after the suicide of Steve Macdonald which lead to the unfortunate disbanding of the band, sole member that remained Luc Lemay decided to bring Gorguts back with the absolute paragon that is Colored Sands.
Based upon a concept that Lemay had thought up, orginially intended to be about the sand mandala but then after research Lemay was intrigued in Tibet. Its culture, its history even the geographical location itself, which then lead to two sides of Colored Sands. The first four tracks explain some of Tibet‘s rich culture regarding the place itself as well as some of the customs experienced, then midway through the album the jarring “The Battle Of Chamdo” signals our arrival into darker territory. The last four tracks are all specifically about Tibet‘s violent past and its unfair governings from China. This seems to be the overall theme of the album, with the album cover demonstrating praying hands but at the same time hands that have been tied, signifying both thematic changes in the album itself. Whilst the subject matter adds to the overall sense of the album, its the music that had everyone writing rage reviews. Although the song structures are abstract and can be rather hard to get your head around, due to the dissonant chords and the off kilter time signatures used by Lemay. Once you just go with the cacophonous flow then it really is a sight to behold.
The impending feeling of dread that comes from the atonal musings in the album meld perfectly with the almost transcending sound, making a perfect mix between the ferocity of the heavy pieces and in essence the calm before the storm of the slow brooding clean pieces. The mastery doesn’t just stop there though, in order to create a sound as unconventional as this is hard but to make it memorable and engaging is nigh on impossible. Like an onion you begin with the primary layer but upon further listens there is so much depth to the record that it keeps surprising you with every listen, slowly delving more into the album’s being. Not only a philosophical take on death metal but a philosophy of music itself, if you’re a fan on death metal then it is paramount that Colored Sands be in your collection.
