Customer Reviews

Considered Dead / Erosion of Sanity

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Roadrunner sucks majorly, that has been established; but these 2-for-1 things seem pretty cool, in comparison to digging out over $20+ dollars for two 10 year old albums. With that said, if you consider yourself a fan of death metal, Considered Dead and Erosion of Sanity should already be in your collection. If they're not, look for an "add to cart" button. It should be where it normally is, but who knows. Maybe Gorguts is just awesome enough to forcefully re-arrange a page layout, as well as listeners' entrails. One of the reasons old-school death metal is so cool is because, every band had a different pool of influence. Every band sounded different, and no band at that point strived for faceless grunting "brutality." Gorguts is no exception, with their early example of technical precision, and dark layered harmonies hidden somewhere between the correlation of buzzsaw guitars and frenetic bass lines.

Considered Dead marks Gorguts' first spash into the death metal scene. It wasn't really recieved as well as peers like Death and Deicide to be called a "splash," so maybe a better analogy is "underwater creature that stealthily eats whales and sailors." Considered Dead was a every bit as morbid of a declaration as other landmark old school releases such as Leprosy and Cause of Death, but Gorguts infused a biting sense of technicality that went beyond rapid tempo changes. Well-integrated pitch-harmonics and shuffling time signatures offered a cryptic hint of things to come.

The Erosion of Sanity would later be deemed one of the best death metal records of the early nineties. The band pushed beyond the cookie-cutter production of Considered Dead, and a new-found crispness allowed Gorguts' riffs to evolve into more gutwrenching beasts. Bass lines and squeeling guitars swarmed into some almost jazzy scales, before dispersing into some minimalist death metal framework. There was no lack of variety here, with the said intricacies and acoustic/piano parts. Luc's vocals were better than ever, with a mid-ranged growls that easily descended into more bassy Chris Barnes-esque grunts. This album took a while to get used to, so if you're looking for instant musical gratification, look elsewhere. The riffs make a little more sense every time you listen to it, until you reach some sort of nirvana where your mind just "clicks" with the music, and you get a satisfying sense of: "I get it now!" These Canadians never quite got the attention that would ever make their name known by mainstream tadpoles, making Gorguts one of death metal's best hidden gems.
- Thus says the Pellington

You have got to really enjoy what roadrunner records has done for old school death metal. the "two from the vault" collections are just great. with the likes of Obituary, King Diamond, and Pestilence being put out in this series, finally, Gorguts gets one. "Considered Dead/Erosion of Sanity." The names of two of death metals finer products. Both albums are packed onto one CD, complimented with liner notes by Deron Miller (cky guitarist/qualified metal listener) the liner notes are very descriptive, and give you a bit of history about the band, what happened to them, and whats going on now.
The first album "Considered Dead" starts off with an acoustical piece, which is a good start, but dont be fooled Mr. Dave Mathews fan, track two spins the CD in an entirely new direction. Pure Death metal. better yet, death metal done right! Considered Dead is a very well rounded record. honestly, i think that if you show this record to new listeners of the metal genere, who dont know much bout old school death metal, they will surely like this record. did i mention that the cover art is awesome?
"THe Erosion Of SAnity" is...very very different from Considered Dead. The songs arnt as simple, and, yes, it is still good, but no way is it like a traditional metal release. you actually have to listen to this album, in order to actually hear it. unlike Considered Dead, this album doesnt just pop up and sound amazing. it just sounds...????? but, after a few listens, you will surely get the feel of the album ,and realize its quite a piece of work.
These are two very good metal releases, and i reccomend that anyone with an open mind to death metal, should pick this up immdeiately. Peace.

5 stars for this becuase of the musicianship, catchiness, talent, intelligence and time put into both recordings (not to mention how amazing the music is). death metal at it's best. 2 amazing records put onto one disc with the linear notes of Deron Miller from cKy. both CDs are out of print, thanks roadrunner for dropping such a great band. roadrunner made a huge mistake around '96. dropping so many good influential metal bands and signing such trash such as slipknot, nickelback and 36 crazy fists. what were they thinking? whatever... first CD is Considered Dead. '91 it was released and never got the recognition it deserved. second half of the CD is The Erosion Of Sanity. one of the GREATEST death metal, no, any kind of record ever written. The Erosion of Sanity pulls away from typical death metal lyrics about satan, death, gore, and blasphemy. sure, they're called GORGUTS, but don't let that fool you. this band stands out from ever death metal band i have ever heard. a must have for any fan of REAL music.

In my mind this is a DM classic. Considered Dead and The Erosion of Sanity were classics by themselves. You should feel very fortunate that they released this gem. I was probably one of the few that bought these cd's when they first came out...10+ years later these albums easily stand out among the great DM bands that we have today. The erosion of sanity sounds very different from considered dead, but both are very good, so you really are getting two masterpieces for the price of one.

If you're here lookin around you're probably a death metal fan of some sort. This re-release is definately worth your money. Both albums are awesome and this band definately brought something new to the table. May not be up to the level of the Obituary 2fers or the Suffocation one but still DAMN good. Do not miss this one!

Considered Dead is consistently good throughout and I can't stress how very underated that album is as it is one of my favorite Death Metal albums period! Erosion is also good but tails off a little at the end. With their flesh, he'll create is a unreal death metal tune. Well worth your money!

Gorguts never got the recognition that it deserves, as if you can probely tell, since there are very few reviews for their albums. Its a shame, since these two albums are not only Death Metal classics, but deserve the praise that bands of the time such as Suffocation, Immolation, Malevolent Creation, Incantation, and Deicide got considering that they all were pioneers of melodic and progressive Death Metal (early 90's) The CD starts out with Gorguts first release, 1991's "Considered Dead" "Considered Dead" is a great debut album, you will already tell that Gorguts has a unique style of death metal which contains elements of early Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation, and Immolation. It is a pretty staight forward Death Metal album, nothing to fancy, but brutal, and intelligent song writing and great musicanship. As you get to Gorguts second release which is 1993's "Erosion of Sanity" you will hear a remarkable difference from "Considered Dead" Gorguts now enters a whole new realm with complicated musical struture, with melodies that are harsh and brutal, sometimes even out of tune (done on purpose) and drumming by Stephane Provencher who in my mind, is might have been one of the best in the genere at the time. His uses his entire drum kit to the T. No dragging or lag time, and no going so fast that he is ahead of the rest of the band. When you listen, and hopefully you will be adding this into your cart soon, you will see what I mean. "ErOsion of Sanity" is described in the linear notes (by CKY's Darren Miller_, as "Many fans were blown away by and confused by initial listen..It was way too much to take in." This is so true. I was completely blown away from when I first heard it, and it was something I had playing in the background while I was doing some computer work. I felt I had to sit back in my sofa, with no distractions, and just absorb all that was going on. After each listen, you will hear something that you didnt realize before. It is that complicated, but that good. This is one of the best Death Metal albums (well two, "Considered Dead is outstanding also, but much easier to take it) of all time. Just like Pink Floyds "Dark side of the Moon" and the Beatles "Abby Road" is the rock,Metallica's "Master of Puppets is to Thrash, Smashing Pumpkins "Infinate Sadness..." and Nivanas "Nevermind" is the grunge rock, and Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" is to jazz, "Considered Dead" and "Erosion of Sanity" is to Death Metal. I think you get my point...please please please pick up this album, you wont be dissapointed......

This is basically a 2-for-1 deal here. It's really nice, because you get to hear the earlier works from such an amazing and talented band, a.k.a. the Roadrunner Records days. Both albums are on one disc, which frees you from the two-disc hassle of 2-for-1 albums. Let me give a mini-review on each album on this CD:

"Considered Dead" - This CD was released in 1991, a strong year for death metal. This CD has excellent riffs like none other, especially in tracks such as "Disincarnated" and "Stiff and Cold". You may notice that this is quite similar to Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten", but it stands out with higher pitched vocals. Wonderful debut.

"The Erosion of Sanity" - The band focuses more on technicality on their 1993 sophomore album. It starts off with "Condemned To Obscurity", with a spine-tingling piano part, then a solo, and then a wicked sweeping riff, and then the song. The whole CD is still in the vein of early 90's tech-death and it is composed well.

Unfortunately, it was a year after "The Erosion of Sanity" was released that Roadrunner dropped them because "death metal wasn't cool anymore". Give me a break, Roadrunner. But then again, I forgive them somewhat for re-releasing these two gems. A must buy for death metal fans.

Basically let me first say that if your into early 90s death metal, then you will love this stuff. Gorguts is an amazing band and I wish I had looked into their material sooner. Both cds are amazing although Erosion of Sanity is a tad better. The vocals, instruments, lyrics, and production are all equally great and you will easily enjoy every minute of this collection. I'm glad Roadrunner released this considering most of the bands they have signed recently aren't that great in my opinion. So if your looking for some classic death metal then be sure to check out these cds and Gorgut's newer stuff too.

Long out of print, Gorguts' first two albums, 1991's Considered Dead and 1993's The Erosion of Sanity, are re-released on one disc from roadrunners. In my honest opinion, this is the best way to get these, since it's really hard to find them individually plus its a bargain 2 albums for the price of one. Roadrunner provide a trip down death metal memory lane with these two prime examples of savage unrelenting death metal. Without question, considered dead and erosion of sanity are Gorguts best and most brutal albums, considered dead is a lot more simplistic than erosion of sanity and basically sounds like satanic cavemen playing as fast and as hard as they can. Although this isn't visible from the first track which includes a latino-esque acoustic number, gorguts soon hit you with barbaric vocals (which are in the same style as john tardy of obituary and Chris Reifert of autopsy),digestible riffage and continuous blast beats, although the bass is not heard that well it's still a great album. With considered dead it is visible that Gorguts are very talented and versatile musicians. Like many other death metal albums from the early nineties, Considered Dead was recorded at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. The album was produced by prolific producer Scott Burns and anyone familiar with his signature sound will recognize his magic touch immediately when listening to Considered Dead. The sound is very brutal, heavy and powerful. It's a bit murky by today's standards but greatly enjoyable none the less. Considered Dead is widely considered a classic death metal album and I fully agree.

The progressive elements that the band would incorporate into their sound later in their Obscura album are nowhere to be found on Considered Dead, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot to like here. They certainly had the respect of their peers, as guitarist James Murphy of Death and vocalist Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse (who often took Gorguts on tour as openers) both make appearances on Considered Dead. There a tentative feel to the proceedings, though; everyone has their chops technically, and theres some excellent riffage on tracks like "Stiff and Cold" and "Bodily Corrupted," two of my favorite tracks along with the instrumental "Waste of mortality". Perhaps the two years between the two albums or having Steve Harris at the helm in the studio helped, but regardless of the reason, The Erosion of Sanity is a much stronger picture of Gorguts. There aren't any guest appearances this time around, other than a bit of piano from Lemay; the band this time are more focused and definitely better as it whips through changes and throws in effective and subtle surprises like the sudden and brief vocal delay in the breakdown of "Hideous Infirmity." There are outstanding arrangements and writing throughout The Erosion of Sanity, too, and although it's hard to pick out the best moments, both "A Path Beyond Premonition" and the moody "Condemned to Obscurity" deserve mention. This is a band really pushing the boundaries of death metal, they have created an awesome album that would make you listen to it repeatedly just to catch all the great and subtle moments. Without a shadow of a doubt these albums are still highly regarded and still stand up on their own as solid death metal releases.

Both of these CD`S definitely belong in the Classic Death Metal Vault. They are very creative during a time when Death Metal bands weren`t ripping each other off as much as this form of music was new. I had these two on cassette from when they came out & have heard a original pressing of "erosion" on CD & can`t tell you how disappointed I was when when I heard how awful the sound is on these. In the past things like mastering were left up to Mostly the pros & some of them did a bad job but know with computer recording all these people who aren't qualified but have a computer & software are getting involved. You might be thinking its because its a old crappy recording that it sounds like it does & you'd be somewhat right but all these crappy remasters squeeze the life out of these in order to make them as loud as possible while making the music sound Dense,Muffled & Harsh (before the Remastering of these Two Albums they had a gritty crunch & rawness to them that out shined most of what was lacking). Listening to these Remasters for me is like having something real & alive that I loved be replaced with a crappy discolored picture. Look for the Video "The Loudness War" on youtube ([...]). It is short & you will see exactly what I mean. Just last year I found a early pressing of "Disincarnate: Dreams of the carrion kind" on here new after looking for a copy for almost 10 years & it blows away the so called "Remaster" as does the cassette as well. Just because someone is a excellent musician or likes music doesn`t mean they are a gifted Recording or Mastering Engineer as such work demonstrates. The thing that is the most bothersome is the idea that such great contributions to music might be overlooked by new audiences all because the musicality has been squashed out. Some other Remasters I can think of off hand that I have had the misfortune of crossing paths with are "Deicide (self titled), & "Obituary: Cause of death" even though most from that late 90`s to 2007 are to the same "louder is better standard". I must add however, the "Cynic: Focus" Remasters that came out in 2004 actually did improve the listening experience as mastering should. When clarity goes down & the music sounds farther away they are doing it wrong.