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Gorguts - Obscura

1998 Olympic Records :: Reviewed by rofreason on 2005-07-06

The only thing that really doesn't make any sense to me is why they kept the name Gorguts. Completely reforming the band with three new additions, Lemay proceeds to create yet another sub-genre with this totally off the wall avant-garde death metal album. Maybe the band name holds something from the past, but the sounds which eminate from my speakers are light years away from anything that was ever considered metal on this planet. Obscura is a really trippy musical journey through the ethereal plane of existence, where the listener is jarred back to reality at times by the intricate dis-musicality that resides here. Glad to see that this was done, for this is definitely not for the average listening public, which is why I'm even more surprised at how well this is being received. Good for Gorguts is all I have to say, but man this is one tough polymer to handle all at once. Some of the strangest sounds possible are made, at times like a cat-strangling party that went way too late, complete with somebody's precocious kid drumming away in the attic. These are the tough parts, for pieces of this aural tapestry are quite soaring, really. Put the whole thing together and you get something that, if you can hack it in it's extremity, is worth it's weight in gold. If you cringe at the name "Mr. Bungle" or anything like that, get something else, get out of the kitchen, it's too hot. So where do I stand? Well, I don't know, but I will say this, I'm totally impressed that this was made, and I can stand back and marvel at the performace, but I feel totally alienated for not liking this as much as I'm supposed to. Maybe that's the point though.