Gorguts
Canadian technical death metal band known for avant-garde complexity.
Gorguts, a Canadian death metal band, originated near Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1989. Throughout its existence, the lineup has shifted repeatedly; guitarist-vocalist and co-founder Luc Lemay has been the sole consistent member and remains the group's central figure. The band has produced five studio albums and one EP. Their most recent release, *Pleiades' Dust*, came out on May 13, 2016. The preceding full-length, *Colored Sands* (2013), earned a Juno Award nomination. Known for a dense, intricate style of technical death metal, Gorguts is regarded as "one of the most advanced, experimental, and challenging groups in the entire genre."
**History**
**Formation, *Considered Dead*, and *The Erosion of Sanity* (1989–1993)**
Luc Lemay (vocals, guitar) and Stephane Provencher (drums) founded Gorguts in August 1989. Carlo Gozzi (bass) and Gary Chouinard (guitar) joined soon after. A friend of Provencher's suggested the band's name. Their first demo, featuring the track "Calamitous Mortification," appeared in 1989. Gozzi left shortly afterward, replaced by Éric Giguère. A second demo, *...And Then Comes Lividity*, was recorded in June 1990 and released that August in a limited run of 500 copies. The band contacted Obliveon's manager, who passed the demo to Dutch-American label Roadrunner, leading to contract discussions. Gorguts signed with Roadrunner in February 1991. Shortly thereafter, Sylvain Marcoux replaced Chouinard on guitar. Their debut album, *Considered Dead*, came out in October 1991, produced by Scott Burns and featuring guest vocals from Cannibal Corpse's Chris Barnes and guitarist James Murphy. In 1992, the band toured the US on the "Blood, Guts and Gore" tour alongside Cannibal Corpse and Atheist. Their second album, *The Erosion of Sanity* (1993), was more experimental and technical than its predecessor. However, death metal's popularity was waning, and Roadrunner dropped the band. Gorguts stopped performing for five years, leading many to believe they had disbanded.
***Obscura*, *From Wisdom to Hate*, MacDonald's Death, and Break-Up (1998–2005)**
Writing for the next album was finished by late 1993, but label disinterest delayed its release. Lemay, by then the only original member, returned in 1998 on Olympic Recordings with a new lineup: Steeve Hurdle (guitar), Steve Cloutier (bass), and Patrick Robert (drums).
Quick Facts
- Landscape
- yes
- Origin
- Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
- Genre
- Technical death metal / avant-garde metal
- Years Active
- 1989–2005, 2008–present
- Label
- Olympic / Roadrunner / Slipdisc / Season of Mist
- Current Members
- Luc Lemay / Kevin Hufnagel / Colin Marston / Michel Bélanger
- Past Members
- Steve MacDonald / Stéphane Provencher / Steeve Hurdle / Sylvain Marcoux / Daniel Mongrain / Éric Giguère / Patrick Robert / Steve Cloutier / John Longstreth / Patrice Hamelin
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Gorguts was formed in August 1989 by Luc Lemay and Stephane Provencher, with Carlo Gozzi and Gary Chouinard joining shortly after. Their first demo featured the track 'Calamitous Mortification' in 1989. After lineup changes, they signed with Roadrunner in 1991 and released Considered Dead in October 1991, produced by Scott Burns with guest appearances by Chris Barnes and James Murphy. Their second album, The Erosion of Sanity (1993), was more experimental but coincided with a decline in death metal's popularity, leading Roadrunner to drop the band. The band ceased performing for five years.
Lemay returned in 1998 with a new lineup on Olympic Recordings, releasing Obscura, which embraced a fully avant-garde approach. After Obscura, lineup changes continued, and From Wisdom to Hate was released in 2001. The band went on hiatus in 2005 following the death of bassist Steeve Hurdle, but reunited in 2008. Their 2013 album Colored Sands drew inspiration from Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and the Chinese invasion of Tibet, not from Opeth or Porcupine Tree. The 2016 release Pleiades' Dust is a concept EP, not a full-length album. As of 2023, no new album had been released, though the band remains active.
Reader's Guide
Gorguts' significance lies in their evolution from a straightforward death metal sound on Considered Dead to an increasingly complex, avant-garde technical death metal style, particularly with Obscura, which has come to be regarded as 'one of the most pungently progressive albums ever made, in or out of metal.' Their music is characterized by technically demanding, structurally complex songwriting with strong use of dissonant and atonal guitarwork. The band's legacy includes influencing the experimental death metal scene and overcoming multiple hiatuses, lineup changes, and personal tragedy, including the suicide of drummer Steve MacDonald. Their 2013 album Colored Sands earned a Juno Award nomination, and their 2016 EP Pleiades' Dust continued their conceptual and progressive approach. Despite periods of inactivity, Gorguts remains a benchmark for technical and avant-garde death metal.
Did You Know?
- The band name was suggested by a friend of drummer Stephane Provencher.
- Steve MacDonald, who had a history of recurrent depression, committed suicide in 2002, which eventually led to the split-up of Gorguts in 2005.
- Colored Sands was inspired by Opeth and the album The Incident by Porcupine Tree.
- Pleiades' Dust is a concept album about the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during Europe's Dark Ages.
More in Avant-garde metal musical groups 1-24
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