GORGUTS - Colored Sands

Prior to the suicide of drummer Steve MacDonald in 2002 and the resulting disbandment of Gorguts in 2005 after three years of inactivity, listeners were left with the cliffhanger that is From Wisdom to Hate. Acting as somewhat of a middle ground between the mind-bending magnum opus that is Obscura and their earlier, more “straight-forward” work like Considered Dead, From Wisdom to Hate is a timestamp from a band simultaneously sinking deeper into the void they created and staring upwards towards the surface. It was, and remains, an appropriate course of action from a band not quite sure where to go next after exhausting so much ambition and creativity on the previous record, and for a while (12 years, to be exact), it was all fans had.

It would seem that over a decade of time off have done singer/guitarist/de facto bandleader Luc Lemay and the newly revitalised Gorguts lineup, featuring Dysrhymia guitarists Kevin Hufnagel and Colin Marston on guitar and bass respectively, a tremendous amount of good. Gorguts‘ latest release, Colored Sands, is an absolutely stunning, planet swallowing monster of a record, and while they spent the majority of From Wisdom to Hate muddling in self-reflection, Colored Sands takes the promise and ambition displayed so fervently on Obscura and rockets it into uncharted territories.
The tracks rarely dip below the seven-minute mark, and just about every second is packed to the gills with guitar-work that borders on dumbfounding and labyrinthian song structures. If From Wisdom to Hate was a step back from Obscura’s leap forward, then Colored Sands is a veritable catapult into the future.

Regardless of whether it’s the decade spent flying under the radar or the fresh lineup under Lemay’s helm that’s caused such an impassioned musical surge from Gorguts, the undeniable truth here is that Colored Sands is a collection of nine undeniably thrilling songs. Tracks like opener “Le toit du monde” and “An Ocean of Wisdom” [listen] unfurl slowly, bursting forth suddenly only to recoil again, while “Enemies of Compassion” and the nine-minute “Absconders” are relentless, giants-marching sieges. Album closer “Reduced to Silence” is in itself a singularly awe-inspiring piece of music, bubbling to the surface with ominous clean guitar overlaying and a steady cymbal roll before proceeding to spin out of control for six minutes only to end as abruptly as the album begun.

On Colored Sands, Gorguts have finally cleared the impasse they created for themselves with the genre-defining Obscura, and then some. Colored Sands is an astonishing record that presents a bold next step from a band who almost dwarfed themselves with their own creativity. Just like Obscura, Colored Sands can be overwhelming at points and relatively difficult to take in all at once, but in that fact lies some of its greatest beauty. Even if it takes Gorguts ten more years to write another record, the constant sense of discovery and jaw-dropping bewilderment that Colored Sands provides should make that time all the more enjoyable. [Season Of Mist]

- Alexander Jones

To know about Halifax Collect updates as they come, follow us on facebook, twitter and tumblr. Thank you.

Join the conversation by writing a comment below.