OBSCURA

Some may find the dissonant and brutal chaos of this album to be overwhelming at first, I know I did. My first few listens of Gorgut's Obscura were spent just trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but after many scrutinizing listens I began to understand what was happening: truly original and progressive music with an artistic statement was gracing my ears. This album is, for all intents and purposes, a jazz album, recorded with distorted guitars, at fast tempos, with intense drumming and anguished screams.

Luc Lemay, mastermind of Gorguts, strove to create a form of music that would challenge the listener, much like Robert Fripp did 25 years ago (although this album was released in 98', much of the music was written in the early 90's), and succeeded. The album is very well produced, all instruments can be heard and contribute to the music as a whole. Time signatures and tempo shifts occur very frequently, which is one of the reasons this album is a technical masterpiece. Odd chords, gutiar and bass, techniques also contribute to the overall technicality of the album. All of the tracks are fantastic and unique (though it may take a few listens to be able to distinguish them, especially if you are new to death metal), but my favorites are "Nostalgia", "Clouded", "La Vie Est Prelude... (La Mort, Orgasme)" (Which means, literally: Life is the Prelude... (The Dead Orgasm), and "Faceless Ones." I became aware of this album soon after becoming aware of the death metal genre. This was before I delved into Progressive music. I would definitely consider this album one of the doorways for me into viewing music as something that should have an artistic statement. I highly recommend it to anyone who shares the same view of music. Five stars, this is a masterpiece, one of the most "progressive" albums since the birth of the genre.