[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er3j01nresI[/youtube]
Metal Insider contributor Anthony Maisano is listening to a different metal album that was released on that day every day this year. 16 years ago today, Gorguts released one of the most crazy and technical albums of all, and called it Obscura.
I saw these guys at Maryland Deathfest, and they put on an awesome show, so I was really happy to get to this album on my calendar. If you like crazy, out of control, amazingly technical death metal, I really couldn’t recommend a better album than this. The instrumental compositions are some of the most technical I can remember, and the vocals by Luc Lemay sound like they could destroy buildings. The near 10-minute track “Clouded” is a track that breaks the mold of the rest of the album, and shows that the band can make a slow song just as heavy and brutal as the rest. Any band that wants to play any sort of technical metal should give this album a listen, because this album turns musical ability up to 20 on this album. I also know from MDF this year that Luc Lemay, who is the only original member left in the band truly loves his fans, and that degree of love doesn’t come often.
The crazy nature of the band makes things sound very random and arbitrary to me. The album sounds incredibly unstructured, and that’s probably the point, though. Things seem to be random, sometimes with no connection from part to part. That aspect is just unpleasing to my ear, but I wouldn’t doubt that this is the point of the album, and if it is, people who don’t mind it will probably love it even more. I wouldn’t call this a ‘flaw’ in the album, per say, rather than just something that isn’t pleasing to my ear.
Favorite Tracks: “Rapturous Grief,” “La Vie Est Prélude… (La Mort Orgasme),” “Nostalgia.”
As I said above, if crazy and technical death metal is your thing, then I can point you to few better albums than this one. However, for people who like the melodic side of metal, even melodic death metal, this one may be a bit too scattered for you. In any case, I certainly think this is an album that is worth listening to, just for the immensely technical and talented musicianship behind it. Give it a shot! You may very well be blown away.
