By association, when this scribe ponders Gorguts, he thinks of Olympic Records (the band’s former label home), Obscura, and how no one could handle the band upon said album’s release. By then, death metal had just made it through the muck that was the mid-‘90s, a period where over-saturation hampered the style significantly, opening the door for black metal. “Weird” death metal wouldn’t have helped matters; it may have blurred the lines even further. But as time wore on, appreciation for Gorguts formed. Coupled with the advancements in DM and the band’s rightful position as pioneers, the Canadians get lots of love, which shall continue with the one-song Pleiades’ Dust EP.
There’s 33 minutes for Luc Lemay and friends in which to work, which means the band’s augmented, tripped-out riff sequences will have plenty of room for fertilization. Not surprisingly, Lemay doles out one disjointed chord sequence after the next, evening matters out with textured breaks, many of which display the quality bass noodling of Colin Marston. In fact, this is Gorguts at its most jazzed-out and experimental. A reach of a statement, sure, but based on the track’s flexibility and ground covered, it makes sense.
Being that Pleiades’ Dust is so involved and unusual, it’s not going to settle in right away. But then the nuances kick in; same goes for Lemay’s ever-deafening roar, and it’s an easy summation: No one does it weird like Gorguts.