Gorguts

Formation, Considered Dead, and The Erosion of Sanity (1989–1993) Gorguts was formed in August 1989 by Luc Lemay (vocals and guitar) and Stephane Provencher (drums), with Carlo Gozzi (bass guitar) and Gary Chouinard (guitar) joining shortly after. The band name was suggested by one of Provencher's friends. They released their first demo with the track "Calamitous Mortification" in 1989. Bassist Gozzi left soon after and was replaced by Éric Giguère. In June 1990 they recorded their second demo ...And Then Comes Lividity and released it in August 1990 with more than 1000 copies. The manager of the band Obliveon, whom they contacted, agreed to pass the demo on to Dutch-American record label Roadrunner, which led to talks about a record deal. The band finally signed with the label in February 1991. Shortly after, the band replaced Gary Chouinard with Sylvain Marcoux on guitar. In October 1990, the first album Considered Dead was released. It was produced by Scott Burns and features guest appearances by vocalist Chris Barnes, then singer of Cannibal Corpse, and guitarist James Murphy. In 1992, the band embarked on the "Blood, Guts and Gore" US tour together with Cannibal Corpse and Atheist in support of the album. However, this coincided with the decline of death metal's popularity as a genre, and Roadrunner subsequently decided to drop the band from their roster. Lemay, the only remaining original member, returned in 1998 on Olympic Recordings with a new line-up consisting of Steeve Hurdle (guitar), Steve Cloutier (bass guitar), and Patrick Robert (drums). It shed whatever remained of their old school death metal sound and embraced a fully avant-garde approach, a style that would become their standard on future releases. After Obscura, Hurdle left and was replaced by Dan Mongrain of the technical death band Martyr, and Robert was replaced by Steve MacDonald on drums. Steve MacDonald, who had a history of recurrent depression, committed suicide in 2002, which eventually led to the split-up of Gorguts in 2005. In an interview, Lemay said that "When I decided to end the band in 2002 or 2003...after Steve MacDonald passed away, I was done with music and I wanted to devote myself to woodworking full time. I was very happy with all the achievements that the band accomplished so it was all good for me.....no bitterness and no feeling of unfinished business." Lemay moved away from Montreal, "because I was done living there. I wanted to be closer to where I was raised and be closer to nature in a way. After Steve's death I wasn't interested in playing music anymore. I was very content with the musical legacy of the band at that point and I was ready to start a new chapter in my life." Reformation and Colored Sands (2008–2014) In 2006, Steeve Hurdle asked Lemay to join Hurdle's band Negativa. While the new Gorguts had been performing live and writing new material, Lemay said that the band would not be recording until "late fall" 2010 with a release date some time in 2011; In May 2012, Steeve Hurdle died from post-surgical complications. Legal issues surrounding the band's previous contract to Olympic Records delayed the release of the album. Olympic were taken over by Century Media, and Lemay wanted to renegotiate the band's contract. "They agreed to, but in the end, we didn't see eye to eye on things and we mutually agreed it was better to go our separate ways. Dissolving the contract was a very time consuming and complicated legal affair." The classical piece "The Battle of Chamdo" was written by Lemay on piano and recorded with a string quintet. Colored Sands was nominated for a Juno Award. ''Pleiades' Dust'' (2014–2019) John Longstreth, whose schedule with Origin was incompatible with Gorguts, departed the band in 2014. His replacement was Patrice Hamelin, who had been performing live with Gorguts since 2011. Lemay announced that Gorguts was working on a new album that would consist of one long song. ''Pleiades' Dust'', the resulting EP, was released on May 13, 2016. It is a concept album about the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during Europe's Dark Ages, and is the band's first recording with Hamelin. On July 25, 2016, the band announced that they would be touring North America in October 2016 with Intronaut and Brain Tentacles in support of ''Pleiades' Dust''. Following this tour, Gorguts entered another period of relative inactivity. The band embarked on a headlining tour of the US in the late spring of 2017 along with Defeated Sanity and Exist. Upcoming album (2020–present) On June 29, 2020, Luc Lemay announced that Gorguts was returning from yet another hiatus and was beginning work on a new album. The band announced a new line-up and live work for 2024. During this time, they supported Cannibal Corpse on their tour of North America along with Blood Incantation and Mayhem. Lemay has stated that the material he has been writing borrows "ingredients from all the records," noting that he has not written a tremolo-picked guitar riff since 1993's The Erosion of Sanity. As of 2026, no new album has come into fruition. == Musical style and legacy ==

Gorguts' style of metal has evolved considerably since the formation of the band, evolving from a relatively straightforward death metal sound into an increasingly complex style of avant-garde technical death metal. More recently, the band's music is characterised by technically demanding, structurally complex songwriting, with strong use of dissonant and atonal guitarwork. Luc Lemay has noted the influence of Opeth, Deathspell Omega, and Porcupine Tree on his more recent songwriting. The band's early music, particularly their debut album Considered Dead in 1991, is characterised by a relatively straightforward death metal sound, with conventional instrumentation and song structures. Lemay credits Swedish death metal band Entombed as a major influence on this album. However, on their second album The Erosion of Sanity in 1993, the band began to experiment more, incorporating pianos and acoustic guitars into their sound. The band took a break after this album but reformed with a new lineup and released Obscura in 1998. Obscura represented a significant shift in the band's style of music, often attributed to then-guitarist Steeve Hurdle. The album made increasing use of complex song structures, unorthodox sounds, dissonant guitar work, unconventional time signatures, and esoteric lyrical themes. "Even by today's standards Obscura is considered to be one of the most complex and technical records in the genre, due to its unprecedented dissonance and experimentation brought by the band's late guitarist Steeve Hurdle." Gorguts' influence on metal has been extensive. They are routinely credited as being key pioneers in the use of dissonance and atonality in metal. Obscura is named after the Gorguts album of the same name. In 2016, the staff of Loudwire named them the 45th-best metal band of all time. ==Band members==

Current • Luc Lemay – vocals, guitar (1989–2005, 2008–present) • Kevin Hufnagel – guitar (2009–present) • Colin Marston – bass guitar, keyboards (2009–present) • Michel Bélanger – drums (2023–present) Former • Carlo Gozzi – bass guitar (1989) • Gary Chouinard – guitar (1989–1990) • Sylvain Marcoux – guitar (1990–1993) • Stephane Provencher – drums (1989–1993) • Éric Giguère – bass guitar (1990–1993) • Steve MacDonald – drums (1993–1995, 1998–2002; died 2002) • Steeve Hurdle – guitar, vocals (1993–1999; died 2012) • Steve Cloutier – bass guitar (1993–2004) • Patrick Robert – drums (1996–1998) • Dan Mongrain – guitar (1999–2001) • John Longstreth – drums (2009–2014) • Patrice Hamelin – drums (2014–2023) Timeline ==Discography==

Studio albums • Considered Dead (1991) • The Erosion of Sanity (1993) • Obscura (1998) • From Wisdom to Hate (2001) • Colored Sands (2013) EPs • ''Pleiades' Dust'' (2016) Compilations • Demo Anthology (2003) Live albums • Live in Rotterdam (2006) Demos • '89 Demo (1989) • ...And Then Comes Lividity (1990) ==References==