Hangman's Chair : "Banlieue Triste"

This French band is gloomy enough for me. I was at first worried they were going to a French version of Katatonia. But the vocals have a more desperate urgency. They have a higher more Ozzy like timbre to them. The production certainly aides in creating the bleak urban landscape they are going for. There is a more Type O Negative like atmosphere to "Sleep Juice". Not that it's goth, it just shares a similar sonic space, though I can also hear the more power ballad like guitar tone from solo Ozzy. The vocals are more vulnerable on this song. Here is a guy that can fucking sing, but doesn't waste notes trying to sound like he is on "the Voice". They have been around for 13 years, so I am not sure how this band has eluded me.

"Touch the Razor" is impassioned, a feels a little to me like something Pallbearer might do. They do not have the affintiy towards angular low tuned riffs that Pallbearer does. It's not like they are setting out to be a doom band. They are just writing songs with a sense of mourning to them.There are big guitar riffs that hold a great deal of weight and in this way I suppose the comparison to Katatonia could be drawn. "Tara" is a atmosphere instrumental , more of an interlude or what might have been better served as the intro to song that follows. "4/19/16"  has more drive on the verse leading into the song then begins to swim in it's melancholy. "Tired Eyes " begins to gather then kind of muscle associated with more traditional forms of doom.

"Negative Male Child" is not a ballad , but does has a poppy grunge sense to it that reminds me of much of the music I listened to in 90s that was not industrial. There is even a stronger sense of hooks in the vocals. There is another instrumental after this that . The last song "Full Ashtray" carries an ominous stomp.It fades out into ambiance, but over all is a solid song. I'll give this album a 10 when you strip away some of the atmospheric interludes as I think they are dark and emotive, in a sincere and powerful manner, I want to let it sink in more.