Best of 2013

4) Gorguts – Colored Sands

More death metal?! How boring... But, I would venture to say calling Gorguts death metal is like calling Led Zeppelin rock. Gorguts is very much a death metal band, but every record they released was an example of innovation. Gorguts changed the way many people viewed death metal, as less primitive bludgeoning and more cerebral, more developed. Gorguts introduced a learning curve to death metal. It is impossible to “get” their '98 release, Obscura, upon first spin because there is simply nothing else like it. But, with time the absurdly discordant atmosphere, the mercurial changes in tempo, the desperate vocals all begin to feel familiar. When it was released, Obscura loosened the term of death metal and gave a visionary example of how limitless music can be.

Gorguts broke up in '05 and silence overcame us until earlier this year when news came that the founding member, Luc Lemay, was reforming the band by borrowing musicians from a few progressive acts with plans of releasing the first full-length under the Gorguts name in 12 years, Colored Sands. Now, given the lengthy hiatus and the lack of the rest of the original line-up, I kept my hope in check until I was able to spin this. And with that first spin I knew this wasn't going to be Obscura 2.0. This was going to be its own beast, another album it would take time to “get.” And after a few months of spins, I think I got it. Where Obscura was shocking and chaotic, Colored Sands is more patient and burdensome. The album feels like molten lead brought to a slow simmer with dissonant soloing and desperate screams occasionally escaping like vapor from the surface. This is an oppressively dark album, and I know very well a description like that isn't going to be terribly attractive to the casual music fan. But I can say with confidence, when future generations happen upon death metal with a pure sense of curiosity, Gorguts is going to be one of the bands they choose to study, Colored Sands one of the albums.