Classical idiom and compositional structure in Gorguts’s Pleiades’ Dust

Gorguts’s May 2016 EP, Pleiades’ Dust, is a one-movement work reminiscent of the tone/symphonic poem found more often in classical tradition, due to its content and compositional structure. My research explores how the compositional techniques found in the piece, specifically the use of a recurring theme and varied metric structure, reflect the narrative of the House of Wisdom. I believe that these techniques were used intentionally by the band, specifically by main songwriter Luc Lemay. Lemay has said in the past that he often does not use his compositional training when writing for Gorguts, but when writing for Pleiades’ Dust he consciously sought to incorporate classical idiom. This article is adapted from a lecture given on 2 December 2016 at the Extreme Music: Hearing and Nothingness Conference at the University of Southern Denmark – Odense.