It is important to note that in reviewing this new release from Canadian Tech Death legends, Gorguts, we all must understand a couple of things. First, there is currently no one in the genre who does it better than Luc Lemay and Gorguts. These titans of Tech Death are responsible for some of the greatest works ever assembled. Their precision is exact. Their brilliance is heralded by the masses. Second, any score associated with Gorguts’ newest masterwork should almost be interpreted as a multiplier that is used to compare this release to other recent releases in the genre. Say, “Pleiades’ Dust is *number score* times better than this album that came out a while ago”.
With ground rules established, this new Gorguts EP is magnificent.
Pleiades’ Dust is a single-track EP that spans over 33 minutes of dizzying and calculated madness. It ebbs and flows through tempered segments and raucous rhythms during its entirety. The opening two minutes is a dramatic build to an eruption of vocals from Lemay and a wave of maddening guitars from Lemay, Colin Marston, and Kevin Hufnagel, the wave bolstered by Patrice Hamelin’s blasting drum patterns. It is a controlled chaos that Gorguts pulls off so well. The aforementioned wave sustains and recedes in as quickly as a few moments in certain sections as it were a tormented sea encased within a glass box. What Gorguts also masterfully pulls off on Pleiades’ Dust is the inclusion of these periods of gloomy ambiance that have seemed particularly atypical to the Gorguts formulae of years long gone. It is brilliant. These moments allow for an easier immersion into Gorguts’s intense Tech Death, something that is rarely seen from the genre outside of potentially Pyrrhon.
Thankfully fans did not have to wait as long for new Gorguts as last time. While only considered an EP and having a relatively short run time, it is a worthy follow-up to Colored Sands and continues to show the incessant evolution that Lemay and his band strives for, year in and year out. Gorguts continues to be better than the field, moving miles ahead of any competitor. Pleiades’ Dust and its newfound breadth exemplify how full of a tank Lemay and his league of extraordinary musician have left. This is easily one of the best things you will hear all year.
Rating: 4.5/5