COLORED SANDS

Returning for their first new studio album in 12 yesrs - 12 years during which the legend and reputation of the mighty Obscura grew and grew - Gorguts come back with a confident album which displays their command of technical death metal but doesn't rely on pure technicality to get the job done. Yes, their progressive and technical instincts are still intact - this is a serious- minded concept album about the effect of Chinese rule on the Tibetan people after all - but that doesn't mean they don't break out some raw and dirty death metal workouts alongside their more technical excursions. Hitting a deft balance between accessibility and technicality, it's perhaps my favourite Gorguts album to date.