Search - Gorguts :: Considered Dead / Erosion of Sanity

Old School Death Metal resurfaces

S. Whiting | Saint Louis, MO United States | 09/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You have got to really enjoy what roadrunner records has done for old school death metal. the "two from the vault" collections are just great. with the likes of Obituary, King Diamond, and Pestilence being put out in this series, finally, Gorguts gets one. "Considered Dead/Erosion of Sanity." The names of two of death metals finer products. Both albums are packed onto one CD, complimented with liner notes by Deron Miller (cky guitarist/qualified metal listener) the liner notes are very descriptive, and give you a bit of history about the band, what happened to them, and whats going on now.

The first album "Considered Dead" starts off with an acoustical piece, which is a good start, but dont be fooled Mr. Dave Mathews fan, track two spins the CD in an entirely new direction. Pure Death metal. better yet, death metal done right! Considered Dead is a very well rounded record. honestly, i think that if you show this record to new listeners of the metal genere, who dont know much bout old school death metal, they will surely like this record. did i mention that the cover art is awesome?

"THe Erosion Of SAnity" is...very very different from Considered Dead. The songs arnt as simple, and, yes, it is still good, but no way is it like a traditional metal release. you actually have to listen to this album, in order to actually hear it. unlike Considered Dead, this album doesnt just pop up and sound amazing. it just sounds...????? but, after a few listens, you will surely get the feel of the album ,and realize its quite a piece of work.

These are two very good metal releases, and i reccomend that anyone with an open mind to death metal, should pick this up immdeiately. Peace."

Hail

See about me | North | 03/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Roadrunner sucks majorly, that has been established; but these 2-for-1 things seem pretty cool, in comparison to digging out over $20+ dollars for two 10 year old albums. With that said, if you consider yourself a fan of death metal, Considered Dead and Erosion of Sanity should already be in your collection. If they're not, look for an "add to cart" button. It should be where it normally is, but who knows. Maybe Gorguts is just awesome enough to forcefully re-arrange a page layout, as well as listeners' entrails. One of the reasons old-school death metal is so cool is because, every band had a different pool of influence. Every band sounded different, and no band at that point strived for faceless grunting "brutality." Gorguts is no exception, with their early example of technical precision, and dark layered harmonies hidden somewhere between the correlation of buzzsaw guitars and frenetic bass lines.



Considered Dead marks Gorguts' first spash into the death metal scene. It wasn't really recieved as well as peers like Death and Deicide to be called a "splash," so maybe a better analogy is "underwater creature that stealthily eats whales and sailors." Considered Dead was a every bit as morbid of a declaration as other landmark old school releases such as Leprosy and Cause of Death, but Gorguts infused a biting sense of technicality that went beyond rapid tempo changes. Well-integrated pitch-harmonics and shuffling time signatures offered a cryptic hint of things to come.



The Erosion of Sanity would later be deemed one of the best death metal records of the early nineties. The band pushed beyond the cookie-cutter production of Considered Dead, and a new-found crispness allowed Gorguts' riffs to evolve into more gutwrenching beasts. Bass lines and squeeling guitars swarmed into some almost jazzy scales, before dispersing into some minimalist death metal framework. There was no lack of variety here, with the said intricacies and acoustic/piano parts. Luc's vocals were better than ever, with a mid-ranged growls that easily descended into more bassy Chris Barnes-esque grunts. This album took a while to get used to, so if you're looking for instant musical gratification, look elsewhere. The riffs make a little more sense every time you listen to it, until you reach some sort of nirvana where your mind just "clicks" with the music, and you get a satisfying sense of: "I get it now!" These Canadians never quite got the attention that would ever make their name known by mainstream tadpoles, making Gorguts one of death metal's best hidden gems.

- Thus says the Pellington"

Members of the Founding Family

Aaron D. Hueber | Rome, New York United States | 01/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Praise be to Suffocation and the likes of Cannibal Corpse, along with the mighty Malevolent Creation, but in the early nineties Gorguts 'Considered Dead' put the b.r.u.t.a.l in brutal. This album will punish your skull as any large metal slab or concrete block would. This album also showcases one of the finest laryngitis-infected throats in the history of the genre. 'Erosion of Sanity' has a few immediately satisfying tracks, but this album is a bit more sculptured than 'Considered Dead.' If 'Considerd Dead' was the large chunks of stone cut from the torso and limbs, 'Erosion of Sanity' would be the fine grains carved from the rib-cage and eye sockets. Put this album on your list, right between the milk and bananas."