264:'s William York wrote that "The guitar/bass harmonies are extremely discordant, the guitar leads are full of alien harmonic squeals and other foreign noises (the title track, for example, features a recurring, legitimately atonal melody played via fingertapping), and the drums change tempos and time signatures in spastic, whiplash-inducing fashion." York also notes that despite the apparent chaos of the album's sound, "it possesses an underlying sense of logic and structure that does reveal itself upon repeat listens. A number of memorable, if strange, guitar melodies emerge throughout the album and help provide a sense of order and thematic unity amidst the apparent chaos; "Earthly Love" and "Nostalgia" are especially strong examples of this."
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as "one of the most pungently progressive albums ever made, in or out of metal. Obscura didn't just register as technical; it sounded downright excruciating, as if its shuddering blastbeats, doleful bellows, and deliriously inventive guitarwork were being torn straight from the chests of its makers."
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represented a significant change in sound for the band, and has been described as moving towards "more complex and groundbreaking musical ideas." The album "is considered to be one of the most complex and technical records in the genre, due to its unprecedented dissonance and experimentation brought
245:
The album was actually almost entirely written by the end of 1993, however it was delayed by a lack of label interest, and wasn't released until 1998. Writing began in April 1993 and was almost complete by late
December of the same year. "We jammed these songs for four years without writing anything
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has come to be regarded as a pioneering album often described as being well ahead of its time, "one of the greatest albums ever made", and "a classic". It has also been noted as a significant influence on a range of other metal bands, including
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remarked that "because of its influence, Obscura will always be a benchmark to which dissonant, technical death metal will be measured; and it's a release that time and circumstance has turned into an unbreakable marble altar."
246:
else in hopes that someone would call us or something. I remember I sent some tapes to record labels and they didn't even write back. They were not even interested. We didn't know it was ever going to come out."
258:
by the band's late guitarist Steeve Hurdle." The album makes use of complex song structures, unorthodox sounds, dissonant guitarwork, unconventional time signatures, and esoteric lyrical themes.
242:". Gorguts also lost both their drummer and guitarist, who simply left the band. They were replaced by 'Purulence' guitarist Steeve Hurdle and 'Psychic Throb' bassist Steve Cloutier.
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genre, and as "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
183:. The album was released on June 23, 1998 through the now-defunct Olympic Recordings, but has since been reissued by a number of labels, in particular
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as "one of the most challenging, difficult albums ever released within the metal genre" and "a work of great depth and vision". Dean Brown of
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678:"Century Media Records - Gorguts: : announce release of "Obscura" and "From Wisdom To Hate" reissues in April!"
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Steeve Hurdle – guitar, vocals, concept idealisation, artistic direction, songs and album title
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themes, representing a further departure from the band's previously established approach.
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roster. Following their departure from the label, they "started writing material for
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884:"Classic Albums Revisited: Gorguts – 'Obscura' | ZT Mag Featured News"
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has come to be regarded as one of the most important albums in the
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has described the album as "the record that defined our sound."
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732:"Descent of Samsara; an Interview with Luc Lemay (Gorguts)"
710:"Album Anniversary: Gorguts' Obscura turns 18Metal Insider"
234:'s popularity, and they were subsequently dropped from the
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Following the release in 1993 of their second full-length
367:, who named their band after the album. William York of
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All lyrics are written by Luc Lemay and Steeve Hurdle
230:. The band's return coincided with the decline of
952:"Gorguts: Colored Sands Album Review | Pitchfork"
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790:"Interview with Gorguts and Withered Earth"
226:the band took part in a European tour with
175:is the third full-length album by Canadian
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526:"La vie est prélude... (La Mort Orgasme)"
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18:1998 studio album by Gorguts
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268:'s Hank Shteamer has described
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568:"Sweet Silence" (instrumental)
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1:
761:"Gorguts – A Storm of Arrows"
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641:Pierre Rémillard – producer,
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187:in 2015. Since its release,
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470:"The Art of Sombre Ecstasy"
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792:. Smother. Archived from
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119:Gorguts, Pierre RĂ©millard
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87:
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817:"Gorguts > Biography"
659:Alain Cloutier – artwork
571:Cloutier, Hurdle, Lemay
543:Cloutier, Hurdle, Lemay
529:Cloutier, Hurdle, Lemay
515:Cloutier, Hurdle, Lemay
501:Cloutier, Hurdle, Lemay
431:Hurdle, Lemay, Cloutier
1186:Behold... The Arctopus
610:, artistic direction,
1130:The Erosion of Sanity
980:. Chronicles of Chaos
849:"Gorguts - Biography"
847:Sharpe-Young, Garry.
222:The Erosion of Sanity
193:technical death metal
138:The Erosion of Sanity
76:Technical death metal
1242:1990s concept albums
859:on December 28, 2008
682:www.centurymedia.com
647:Sylvain Brisebois –
282:Professional ratings
277:Legacy and reception
1144:From Wisdom to Hate
1084:Stéphane Provencher
357:Spawn of Possession
337:Chronicles of Chaos
283:
156:From Wisdom to Hate
767:. October 31, 2013
738:. October 23, 2013
442:"The Carnal State"
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633:Patrick Robert –
627:Steve Cloutier –
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587:
512:"Rapturous Grief"
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109:Olympic, Slipdisc
81:avant-garde metal
62:Studio Victor in
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855:. Archived from
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712:. June 23, 2016
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554:"Faceless Ones"
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580:Total length:
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540:"Illuminatus"
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498:"Subtle Body"
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384:Track listing
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250:Musical style
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197:Steeve Hurdle
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54:June 23, 1998
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1128:
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1098:Éric Giguère
1008:. Retrieved
982:. Retrieved
978:"CoC Review"
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959:. Retrieved
955:
946:
934:. Retrieved
924:
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891:. Retrieved
887:
861:. Retrieved
857:the original
853:Rockdetector
842:
830:. Retrieved
820:
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798:. Retrieved
794:the original
769:. Retrieved
764:
740:. Retrieved
735:
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714:. Retrieved
685:. Retrieved
681:
672:
606:Luc Lemay –
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372:
371:categorized
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39:Studio album
15:
1232:1998 albums
1196:Dysrhythmia
984:January 20,
931:Macrovision
827:Macrovision
655:photography
629:bass guitar
456:"Nostalgia"
361:Brain Drill
232:death metal
205:existential
177:death metal
1226:Categories
1010:August 27,
961:August 27,
893:August 27,
771:August 27,
742:August 27,
716:August 27,
687:August 27,
664:References
377:PopMatters
236:Roadrunner
127:chronology
1063:Luc Lemay
832:March 12,
800:March 12,
765:Worm Gear
592:Personnel
484:"Clouded"
414:"Obscura"
266:Pitchfork
228:Blasphemy
209:Luc Lemay
201:spiritual
1201:Krallice
936:July 19,
926:Allmusic
863:June 28,
822:Allmusic
643:engineer
602:producer
369:AllMusic
353:Ulcerate
301:Allmusic
262:AllMusic
115:Producer
64:Montreal
59:Recorded
51:Released
41: by
1137:Obscura
1053:Gorguts
921:review"
919:Obscura
620:artwork
598:Gorguts
373:Obscura
365:Obscura
348:Obscura
270:Obscura
255:Obscura
240:Obscura
215:History
189:Obscura
181:Gorguts
172:Obscura
160:(2001)
151:(1998)
147:Obscura
142:(1993)
125:Gorguts
44:Gorguts
24:Obscura
1211:Voivod
1206:Martyr
649:master
612:vocals
608:guitar
487:Hurdle
406:Length
363:, and
341:9.5/10
295:Rating
292:Source
88:Length
635:drums
616:viola
584:60:25
403:Music
400:Title
179:band
105:Label
71:Genre
1191:Byla
1012:2016
986:2015
963:2016
938:2010
895:2016
865:2013
834:2009
802:2009
773:2016
744:2016
718:2016
689:2016
574:6:45
560:3:50
546:6:15
532:3:28
518:5:27
504:3:23
490:9:32
476:4:20
462:6:10
448:3:08
434:4:04
420:4:04
203:and
1161:EPs
565:12.
551:11.
537:10.
396:No.
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95::
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