It may go without saying, but when Gorguts announced last year that their upcoming musical exploration would be a single composition spanning over several tracks, plenty of us here at the blog were chomping at the bit. Now the wait is finally over, or at least for a piece of the now-titled Pleiades’ Dust, and it’s safe to say that the wait has definitely been worth it. Though as of right now it’s unclear as to what section of the composition “Wandering Times” will fall in, it works amazingly well as a standalone track and shows once again why this band is so revered amongst those in the death metal world.
Overall, “Wandering Times” (which premiered over at Stereogum this morning) isn’t exactly a huge leap in logic from the band’s last album, 2013’s excellent Colored Sands, but it somehow manages to feel even more dense and overwhelming than before. Right out of the gate, the song’s swirling and disorienting intro being paired with Kevin Hufnagel’s oft-bizarre approach to guitar solos shows that Gorguts still have a lot more to say and feel as musically inspired to push boundaries than ever before. Even the song’s middle section shows the band successfully navigating into industrial territory, but don’t worry, this isn’t another awkward embarrassment like Illud Divinum Insanus. Wrap up these elements in a thick, muddy blanket of bile-covered dissonance and garnish it with Luc Lemay’s thunderous growl and you’ve got us thinking over here that Pleiades’ Dust could very well end up being one of the finest releases to come out in 2016. The band just announced that it’s going to be released on May 13th (via Seasons of Mist), so make sure to keep an ear out for any more Gorguts tunes that could surface before then!