The original lineup of the band featured Luc Lemay (guitar/vocals), Sylvain Marcoux (guitar), Eric Giguere (bass) and Stephane Provencher (drums) in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They recorded a demo in 1990 entitled ...and Then Comes Lividity, and then in 1991 released Considered Dead on Roadrunner, their first full-length album. The release featured a guest guitar solo by James Murphy and guest vocals by Chris Barnes. Two years later in 1993, they released their second full-length, entitled The Erosion of Sanity. Similar in style to their debut, this album had showed Gorguts had indeed developed in musicianship. However, this album was overlooked and became an unheard classic for many years.
The band fell silent for five years. Many assumed Gorguts was no more, until 1998 when Luc Lemay unveiled a new lineup and unleashed a classic in avant-garde death metal, Obscura, which many will agree is the most technical, chaotic and downright lucid metal album ever recorded. Filled with irregular beats, discordant riffing, and complex song arrangements, Obscura turned out to be either indigestible by many, or seen for its true beauty by few. Three years later, Gorguts returned once again with From Wisdom to Hate. Some consider this release to be a digression from Obscura, but it was still much in the same avant-garde/technical vein. Dan Mongrain of Martyr was recruited for the second guitarist on this album, contributing to the writing process and lead guitar work as well.
After being out of print for many years, Roadrunner Records re-released their first two albums on a single disc, and Galy Record re-released their 1990 demo along with many other demo tracks throughout the years. In October 2002, drummer Steve MacDonald hanged himself after suffering from years of depression. The band split up in 2005 and reformed in 2008.
As of December 2008, a demo track of Gorguts featuring guitar and programmed drums which was previously unheard by the public surfaced online, and Lemay himself confirmed an upcoming reunion featuring Colin Marston, Kevin Hufnagel and John Longstreth. While the new Gorguts has been performing live and writing new material, Lemay stated that the band would not be entering the studio until the "late fall" of 2010.
The band is currently signed to Season of Mist. The band's fifth album, Colored Sands, was released on August 30, 2013, although it was released digitally a month earlier after a leak of the material online. A concept album about the history of Tibet, Colored Sands was rapturously received in many publications and appeared in many year-end best-of lists. The band cited Porcupine Tree and Opeth as influences on the album's lengthier compositions, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich and Krzysztof Penderecki on its neoclassical string interlude "The Battle of Chamdo".
In 2014, John Longstreth, whose schedule with Origin was incompatible with Gorguts, departed the band. His replacement, Patrice Hamelin, had already been performing live with Gorguts since 2011. In 2015, Obscura, which had been out of print on CD for decades, was re-released by both Century Media and Season of Mist. It also received a new vinyl pressing from Season of Mist (it had previously been released on vinyl by War on Music). Century Media also reissued From Wisdom to Hate (also previously released on vinyl by War on Music) on vinyl. A two-CD set of both albums was issued by Mazzar Records in 2016.
The band's first EP, Pleiades' Dust, was officially released on May 13, 2016. A concept album about the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during Europe's Dark Ages, it consists of a single track divided into seven movements. The band cited Deathspell Omega as a musical influence this time around. Reception thus far has been almost unanimously positive.
Rapturous Grief
Gorguts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hopelessness behind
I ascent
Feeble minds
Regret in their eyes
They repent
Inner horizon
I glorify my death in peaceful solitude
Rapturous Grief
AS my soul rises Transparency, I reach
far from this world, I'll be
Lost within darkness
Timeless dormancy is
where now I shall dwell
Cast beyond mortals
The faceless ones, I meet
The faceless ones are cleansing me
Grotesque earthly love behind
I leave the sun behind
Splendid fluid transparency ashore
Within darkness, I dwell
The carnal state, I escape
Life is now a part of past extracted from me
The carnal state I forsake
Death is now a part that
Last longer than life and its misery
Mindless soul
Pure consciousness
My internal dream was my eternal fear
Dead with pride
Hopelessness behind
I ascent
Feeble minds
Regret in their eyes
They repent
Inner horizon
I glorify my death in peaceful solitude
Obscure concept of blissful imagery
Rapturous Grief
The lyrics of Gorguts's song Rapturous Grief revolve around the idea of death and the transition from the physical state to the spiritual realm. The first verse sets the tone, describing how the singer is dead with pride, leaving behind hopelessness, and ascending towards an inner horizon. The second verse talks about how the singer is lost within darkness, and how they meet the faceless ones who cleanse them. The chorus repeats the words "Rapturous Grief," which seems like a paradoxical concept, as one would not associate grief with rapture, but perhaps the idea is that the singer is experiencing a sense of relief and joy upon reaching their final destination.
The third verse delves deeper into the singer's state of mind, as they leave behind earthly love and escape the carnal state. They forsake life and embrace death as a part that lasts longer than the misery of life. The final verses suggest that the singer has attained pure consciousness and that their eternal dream was their eternal fear.
Overall, the lyrics of Rapturous Grief are intricate and thought-provoking. The imagery of death, darkness, and cleansing is vividly portrayed, and the paradoxical concept of rapturous grief is thoroughly explored. The song is a perfect example of Gorguts's unique style of death metal, which combines complex musical structures with philosophical and psychological themes.
Line by Line Meaning
Dead with pride
I have died but am not ashamed; I am proud of who I was
Hopelessness behind
All my despair and troubles have been left in the past
I ascent
I rise to a higher plane of existence
Feeble minds
Those who are unable to ascend with me are weak in their minds
Regret in their eyes
Those who remain on this mortal plane regret not being able to join me
They repent
They wish they could have lived their lives in a way that would allow them to ascend with me
Inner horizon
My internal view of the world expands beyond what is visible to mortal eyes
I glorify my death in peaceful solitude
I find peace in my own demise, and celebrate the end of my mortal life alone
Obscure concept of blissful imagery
The idea of a pleasant afterlife is not widely understood by mortal minds
Rapturous Grief
The joy I feel in leaving the mortal plane is mixed with the sorrow of leaving behind those who were unable to join me
AS my soul rises Transparency, I reach
As my soul ascends, I become more transparent
far from this world, I'll be
I will be separated from this mortal world
Lost within darkness
My new existence is in a dark and unknown realm
Timeless dormancy is
I will enter into an eternal state of inactivity
where now I shall dwell
This is where I will exist from now on
Cast beyond mortals
I have been thrown past the limits of mortal existence
The faceless ones, I meet
In this new realm, I encounter beings without physical form
The faceless ones are cleansing me
These beings are purifying me before I can settle into my new existence
Grotesque earthly love behind
The flawed and imperfect love of life on earth is left behind
I leave the sun behind
The bright and warm aspects of life are also left behind
Splendid fluid transparency ashore
In my new realm, I am surrounded by a beautiful and fluid transparency
Within darkness, I dwell
My eternal existence is in a realm of darkness and mystery
The carnal state, I escape
I no longer exist in a physical, human body
Life is now a part of past extracted from me
My past mortal life is now completely behind me
The carnal state I forsake
I choose to leave behind the physical and mortal plane
Death is now a part that
My new eternal existence is defined by the end of my mortal life
Last longer than life and its misery
This new existence will outlast the struggles and pain of mortal life
Mindless soul
My new existence is not tied to my previous human consciousness
Pure consciousness
My new consciousness is entirely focused on my new realm
My internal dream was my eternal fear
Before my death, I was afraid of this new existence - but it is now my reality
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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