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.
Subtle Body
Gorguts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ghostly shades aerate
In the air, penetrates
Transparent fleshless beings cast in tangible
Mortal eye horrified by this spectral light
Enhance, Enhance
Cloudy, obscure conception
Unspeakable perception
Volatile infiltration in visible
Beyond sight and demise
Shall transcend darkened minds
Existence, being transposed to invisible
Terms of life, once arrived, I will
Bring your spectral flight
Sweet silence
Crawling animation
Sweet serenity
Unearthly variation
Embrace, embrace
Futile fascination
The flight enhance
Increasing perversion
Volatile incarnation in tangible
Beyond sight and demise
Have trancend, Darkened minds
Transparent fleshless beings cast in tangible
Terms of life, now arrived,
Brought your spectral flight
The lyrics of Gorguts's song Subtle Body describe the idea of the human spirit or soul being separated from the mortal body in a supernatural way. The lyrics suggest that this separation becomes visible and tangible to our eyes as a ghostly presence in the air which penetrates our surroundings. The words "volatile incarnation" (referring to a temporary or unstable form of something) and "transparent fleshless beings cast in tangible" (referring to ghosts or spirits) illustrate the ephemeral nature of this phenomenon which defies scientific explanation.
The lyrics also suggest that the ghostly presence seen is not something to be frightened of, despite the initial reaction of "Mortal eye horrified by this spectral light." The words "sweet silence", "sweet serenity", and "unearthly variation" suggest a sense of tranquillity and acceptance, while "futile fascination" and "increasing perversion" suggest a growing fascination with the concept of the human soul being separated from the body. The final verse of the lyrics indicates that the separation of the soul from the body has already occurred, and the spirit is now able to take flight in its new transparent form.
Line by Line Meaning
Volatile incarnation in tangible
A fleeting presence made real, forming a physical manifestation
Ghostly shades aerate
Ethereal forms moving and flowing like air
In the air, penetrates
Able to move through and occupy space
Transparent fleshless beings cast in tangible
Invisible, bodiless apparitions made material
Mortal eye horrified by this spectral light
The physical senses unable to comprehend the eerie and strange
Enhance, Enhance
A call to amplify and intensify
Cloudy, obscure conception
A nebulous and ill-defined idea
Floating, Floating
Drifting aimlessly and weightlessly
Unspeakable perception
A sense of something beyond human understanding
Volatile infiltration in visible
An ephemeral presence entering the physical world
Beyond sight and demise
Transcending the limitations of life and death
Shall transcend darkened minds
Elevating beyond the narrow views of mortal thinking
Existence, being transposed to invisible
Moving from the material realm to the intangible
Terms of life, once arrived, I will
The essence of life reaching an unknown destination
Bring your spectral flight
Guiding the spirit on its ethereal journey
Sweet silence
A peaceful and gentle quiet
Crawling animation
Movement that is slow and creeping
Sweet serenity
A serene, tranquil state
Unearthly variation
Something that is not of this world
Embrace, embrace
A call to welcome with open arms
Futile fascination
An interest that ultimately leads to nothing
The flight enhance
Amplifying the journey through the ethereal realm
Increasing perversion
A growing distortion or corruption
Have trancend, Darkened minds
Rising above the narrow and limited thinking of humanity
Terms of life, now arrived,
The essence of life reaching its ultimate destination
Brought your spectral flight
Guiding the spirit to its final resting place
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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