Gorguts - Considered Dead (1991) Reviews
Gorguts have always been an underrated band in my opinion. They've released several great albums over the years and never really been given the credit that I feel they deserve. This debut album didn't do anything particularly original back in 1991 as there had been several other bands playing this type of death metal for a couple of years already. But what it did, it did extremely well, with a smattering of atmosphere, and a consistent quality that makes it a fine listen from start to finish.
There were obvious influences from other more established bands. It’s easy to hear Death in the song structures and riffs, but that's hardly surprising considering how influential Chuck and co were to all early death metal. The other band that comes to mind is Obituary, with that evil atmosphere and mid paced, riffs and drumming that creep under your skin. I think the reviewer below (Leon666) nailed it when he suggested that Dan Seagrave's artwork comes to mind when listening to the album as it's evil, deathly presence oozes all over this release.
Gorguts would release better albums than Considered Dead, but when I put it into the context of 1991, I consider it to be an underrated gem and compellingly entertaining stuff! Highlights include Stiff and Cold, Inoculated Life, Waste of Mortality and the killer Disincarnated.
Canadian death metal monsters Gorguts hit my radar in a pretty major way when I was thoroughly blown away by their track "Disincarnated" which appeared on a 1992 R/C Records compilation CD I'd picked up called "Rock Hard Presents Monsters of Death". It was a rip-roaring compilation album from memory so the fact that Gorguts were able to stand out amongst such illustrious company was a major feather in their caps. I'd subsequently go about picking up their debut full-length "Considered Dead" on CD at my earliest convenience & was immediately drawn to Gorguts' purist death metal sound.
"Considered Dead" is often overlooked in the star-studded Gorguts back catalogue, mainly because it's such a simple record in comparison to the more experimental & technical releases that followed. Here we see Gorguts sporting a very similar sound to records like Death's "Spiritual Healing", Immolation's "Dawn of Possession" & Pestilence's "Consuming Impulse" & making a very good fist of it too it has to be said. The production job is perfect for this style of music with the guitars having that thick death metal tone & Luc Lemay's death growl sounding as potent as it ever has & representing the focal point of the band. The level of musicianship was already very high although there was still a little room for improvement in the overall tightness at times. I particularly enjoy the guitar solos & the occasional use of progressive riff structures which were very accomplished for a debut album in 1991.
What holds "Considered Dead" back though is the feeling that you've heard it all before. In truth, I slightly prefer it to records like "Spiritual Healing" & "Consuming Impulse" but it's simply come a little too late in the game to have the same sort of impact on the wider extreme metal scene. As it stands, "Considered Dead" has been relegated to the bench with the other also-rans & I feel that's a little harsh to tell you the truth as there's an awful lot of quality here. Perhaps the tracklisting could have done with a couple more standout tracks like the afore-mentioned "Disincarnated" or techy closer "Inoculated Life" but there's a clear class & consistency to it which makes it an essential part of Gorguts' back catalogue nonetheless. Hell, I'd even take it over 2000's ultra noisy & experimental "Obscura" album if I was forced to choose between the two which is probably a representation of my personal taste profile more than anything else. Classic death metal fans are unlikely to be disappointed with "Considered Dead" but it's also unlikely that it'll change their worlds like the greatest releases of the genre.
It is hard to remember Gorguts as anything other than boundary pushing, avant-grade and unique purveyors of some of the most challenging music out there. But everybody has to start somewhere and their debut was a straight up death metal record. No evidence was shown in 1991 of much of anything in the way of technicality with the focus instead being on the release of the familiar sound that was infecting much of the metal world in the early nineties.
It was well-played stuff most definitely with the band having retained three quarters of the line up from the ’89 demo …And Then Comes Lividity barring the replacement of Chouinard on guitar by Sylvain Marcoux. Here on the debut full-length there were obvious Florida influences in terms of the established death metal scene which is grest to hear on an album from a Canadian band that clearly knew the genre they were entering into very well.
By no means should this be viewed as an inferior release in the extensive and increasingly technical (from the next album onwards) albums of one of the grestest death metal bands ever to tread foot on the earth. Considered Dead does what most bands fail to achieve on their debuts, making a splash in an established scene without being bloated or turgid. In a world that was accepting the inevitable infection of death metal, the debut from Gorguts was reliant only on established traits within the genre. It wasn't interested in being that different because the ability of the musicians was more than sufficient to lay down this excellent foundation stone for the band to build their discography from.
As they drifted into their follow up release you could still hear the influence of Considered Dead throughout The Erosion of Sanity giving a real rooted and grounded feel to the added technicality they were adding at that time. For a fan of the band throughout their career the importance of the debut album from Lemay and company cannot be underestimated.
Nasty, grimy, rotten early 90s death metal that sounds like a formless beast emerging from the depths of a swamp.
Ah, the Gorguts debut. The riffs on this album will turn your brain to slush with just how purely evil they sound. Not to mention the classic cover art. Yet I also love this album because Gorguts did something that very few other bands in the genre did at this point: Show that you could play death metal with a touch of restraint and creativity that actually adds to the uncanny atmosphere without compromising your heaviness. They would obviously expand on this idea in their later albums.
The vaguely folky intro begins the album on an eerie note and it doesn't let up from there. I love the bass and the drumming on "Disincarnated", which immediately jumps out as a standout track. Gorguts saves the rest of the album's highlights for the end. The instrumental song "Waste of Mortality" is one of the best death metal instrumentals I know of. "Haemetological Allergy" and "Inoculated Life" -- the finale two tracks -- are the best on the album. If you close your eyes and listen to Track 9, the music will give you the sensation of ants crawling up your body.
Fucking evil, man. Gorguts.