The Top 10 French Metal Bands

The world was just alerted to the fact that France exports metal as well. The band used to showcase this fact was great in 2005 when they released "From Mars to Sirrus" but went off in an almost nu-metal-like direction that has more in common with Machine Head than I might like. the band's more recent material has found too much of their tour mates Mastodon rubbing off on them. So in the interest of presenting a more accurate picture of what the best metal France has to offer,  Acts like Perturbator who are just metal adjacent but a synth wave band won't appear, since even though I like them,  they are not suited for this list. Spoiler alert Alcest is not on this list either, they used metallic elements to add dynamics to their songs, but are So in the interest of presenting a more not a band in and of themselves. they make shoe-gaze for elves with bad attitudes. Who is on the list... a bunch of dark heavy bands that you are not likely seeing open for Korn anytime soon. 

10- Glorior Belli

This band went from black metal to a more Goatwhorish swampy sludge thrash. Here's hoping for another album from them before the world ends. 

   

9-Liquid Flesh

This Death Metal band from Grenoble is one of the newer bands on this list. They play a groovy style of death metal that honors the classic sound while being forward-thinking

 

 8-Vous Atres

Another new band these guys play a very dark and deliberate form of black metal that does not seek to follow the Scandinavian path but instead goes deeper into inner bleakness, as darkness becomes a tangible feeling with their sound.

 

 7-AU CHAMP DES MORTS

Former members of Anorexia Nervosa dropped an album in 2017 that was equal parts large and majestic in scope and possessed by a profoundly emotive atmosphere. 

 

6-The Great Old Ones 

This Bordeux-based band is not only HP Lovecraft-themed, but plays a post-rock-infused style of black metal that carries a dense sludge-ridden crunch, to capture the mood of the subject matter

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 5-Peste Noire

Black Metal could be captured as video games, these guys would be the sonic equivalent of Grand Theft Auto. They have the "I Don't Give a Fuck" attitude in short supply these days. At one time metal was a middle finger to the rest of the world, and these guys have that attitude, they are not afraid of who they offend nor should they be. 

 

4-Blut Aus Nord 

Who says LSD and depressing black metal don't mix? They work well together on the nightmarish throbbing sounds this band conjures. "The Work That Transforms God" is often considered the best album, but I enjoy their 777 trilogy. 

 3-Fange

This industrial sludge band from Rennes is one of the heaviest bands today. They took what Godflesh started and made it darker and more dismal. 

 

 

2-Igorrr

 They might have more in common with Mr. Bungle than your average metal band, Corpsegrinder lent his voice to their last album, so that says a great deal about where they are willing to go, even with all their quirky bells and whistles they are still heavier than Gojira

 1-Deathspell Omega

Dense progressive angular odes to darkness. Lots of bands pretend to be into the occult, these guys actually know what they are talking about and create seething evil, with a drummer who is criminally underrated even in the more extreme circles of metal. They took the number one spot because they typically sound more serious about what they were doing than Igorr, who is still a great band these guys are just heavier. 

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Deathspell Omega : "the Long Defeat"

 The French Black metal project's 8th full length. The bar is always high for them as they continue to make music that challenges both themselves and the listener. This opening track confirms this is still the case as it is both their most accessible work and some of the densest darkest atmosphere they have dug into in some time. The vocals are varied. They range from a proclamation to croaks and gurgles. The bass tone is their sickest yet. They drape everything in dissonance. Not a depressive black metal band, but they touch on a similar gut-wrenching vibe.  Regular reader will know I am not normally down for a twelve-minute opening track, but it works here as they hold your attention. Could they stood to have trimmed some of the fat? Sure perhaps two minutes worth , but it is not enough to distract me from where they hit the mark. 

The second song, picks up where the verses of the first track left off. Then things get blasty and chaotic. When it come back together in the more thrashing section with the croaked vocals it sounds more like they have common ground with the black metal status quo. The title track is also a step away from the darker and more jarring sounds found on the first song and more like what you expect from a black metal band without relying solely on blast beats. Are there some? Yes, but it is not over done, however the title track works off a similar rage that you can hear from bands more in the middle of the blackened road.  If this was any other band, it would be more impressive , and they nail what they set out to accomplish here, but  how occult is this ?  The darker more melodic turn the song takes is a nice shift of dynamic, but not sure it fully answers this question. 

"Sie sind..." finds them blasting into things with a more reckless energy than we have heard from them in some time. It sounds like the instruments are crashing into the sound barrier, We have know they are capable , but really heard the conventional shredding metal guitar solo that is touched upon here, as they give you the taste, they could do it if they so desired. When things are more deliberately paced the song has a better stride.  The drumming is impressive regardless. That more Emperor like vibe I have spoken of in relation t this band in the past, can be heard here.  After having them thrown almost every conceivable black metal sound at you they should they can write a song as well, with "Our Life is your death", which feels more like first wave black metal, without them trying to dig into a retro sound like most of the bands who worship Venom do.  I will round this up to a 9.5, which is more of a concession than I normally have to make for these guys, it's just the kitchen sink of blank metal hitting you midway into the album and some of the more straight forward elements take a minute to get used to.   

 

Deathspell Omega : " The Furnaces of Palingenesia"

This French metal band needs little introduction. Serious as heart attacks my favorite album from these guys is 2010's "Paracletus" . This one is not as angular of a ride , but the darkness and dissonance is there. The delivery puts them closer to Ulcerate than Emperor. There is a more straight forward chug to the dense heaviness of " Ad Arma, Ad Arma". The vocals have a snarl to them. It weight they hit you with feels more like death metal than black metal. The atmosphere is not their for black metal. There is more of an explosive thrashing on "Splinters From Your Mothers Spine"> The lyrics I can make out are pretty mean spirited. So I am glad they are making metal hate again. This is not the only time they lock into a strong chugging groove.  Truth be told I would rather hear this from them than blast beats.

They do build up more of a chaotic momentum on this one. They are wise to back off and let the darkness simmer with " 1523" . It is beautifully creepy. The songs are pretty compact. They do not waste time droning. Most are under 5 minutes. The formula for the dynamics seems to be swirling shadows of chaos then lock into the chug. It works . "Standing on the Work of  Slaves" reminds me of old Samael. What strikes me the most are the songs where it is clear they have their own identity and are not content just wallowing in the same old writhing pulse most blackened death metal seems to carry. "Renegade Ashes" does have more of a black metal feel. The drumming is pretty crazy, but when you are this kind of band it has to be. Sung vocals float out of the craziness.

When they get overzealous and focused on heaviness for the sake of heaviness or jerk you around int too spastic of a manner they are not playing to their strengths , but even in these momentum the sound and the musicianship tend to make up for it. I think this album is more accessible to a wider metal audience. Not a mainstream one. There is a looser feel to the slower "You Can Not Even Find the Ruins" , which not only does the title sound like an HP Lovecraft story, but the music does as well. I will round this up to a 9, as the pervading darkness pushes it over the edge. 




9.8

The Top 50 Metal Guitarists - 50 to 41

It's not a good year to have played guitar with me. The loss of my bud Shaun Dunn, marks the second guitarist I have lost in the past year. This turned my thoughts to what makes a good guitarist great. Metal finds the stakes for guitarists high. Shredding can come before playing a fucking song. While all of these guitarists can play a solo, I was also looking for tone, impact on the genre as a whole and how their personalities came through in their playing. So this list of the top 50 Metal Guitarists, is dedicated to Chris and Shaun, you two both talked about a few of these guys with each other and your favorites both made the list.


 50- Richard Z Kruspe

 He adds inspired texture and melody to the machine like grind of his employers.




49-Jason Weirbach

 One of the darkest heaviest and most interesting tones in the game. Much more muscle behind it than your typical tremolo picked black metal playing yet it still possess the hypnotic throb.





48-Steven Russell


 His two projects greatly differ one is atmospheric sludge the other is blackened thrash so this speaks to how he is versatile enough to shift his playing.





 47-Jon Schaffer

 His band has gone through various "lead Players" so he might be the only so called rhythm player on this list, but his tone and command of this instrument serve the song and power his band's sound no matter who is behind the mic or playing the solos. Though I prefer Matt Barlow handling the mic

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 46-Oystein Garnes Brun

His band juggles so many vocal part and shifts in dynamics, he proves himself in one song being able master both epic almost power metal riffing and then dig into fast tremolo picked black metal. One of the most under rated prog metal guitarists out there.





45-Michael Keene


He has the worst tone of anyone on this list, but is fleet enough of finger to compensate for it , though live the sound was rather thin.



44- Justin Hartwig

On his band's last album he really stepped up to the plate and delivered stellar playing that should elevate this reputation beyond just playing in a funeral doom band.





43-Eddie Clarke

He is more of a rock n roll player who did just enough rough living to give his music a burly enough edge to be embraced as metal, He doesn't compete with the snarl of Lemmy's bass and occupies the right jagged mid range to cut through the blitzkrieg of bass and drums.




  42-Nergal

He has a dark dense tone, but I find his more melodic touches and more tender bits of musicality more impressive. Not the biggest fan of "the Satanist" , but trying to get over that and return to their earlier work that I did enjoy.




41-Hasjarl

His odd angular playing might barrow from Emperor, but I think his band is impressive in how chilling and dissonant they keep things, which lies in his ability to not over play despite playing very technical odd timed black metal.

 

Deathspell Omega : "the Synarchy of Molten Bones"

Dark and more melodic than expected are my first thoughts going into the first few moments of the French band's new album. They soon blast off into a more dissonant murk. The mathy acrobatics are still in play as the chaos gets stirred up rather quickly. The vocals stay at a lower death metal like growl. Some how grooves form amid the madness. The first song was something I knew I was going to have to go back and listen to again in order to soak it all in as they throw a lot at you. The blinding blitz of drums opens "Famished For Breath". The snarls are multi-tracked to keep the narrative otherworldly. The technical intensity of what goes down almost makes this feel for like blackened death metal rather than progressive death metal as it is more about the attack than the atmosphere.

Their brand of sonic crazy is not as cohesive on "Onward where Most with Ravin I may meet" . There are some guitar melodies that are a little catchy, but there are buried under the land slide of blast beats and jagged guitars coming at you from every direction. The last song is every bit as manic. I am listening for what is setting this part from all the other blinding walls of sonic filth they have flung at my ears like a possessed monkey with molten poop.

 I think this album got off to a good start, but in the crazed frenzy the song writing got a little lost in the blur. The vocals begin to take on more of an Inquisition like croak. This might be the album's fastest song. The blast beats are most effective when the guitars drop out. Why play by the rules when you can break them, is where these guys are at their peak. These guys are great musicians and this album sounds great, but at the end of the day it's about songs. Even though song writing falls short their chops and energy take them further than any of the bands who want to be them. I'll give this one an 8, it's not something that I think I'll get a ton of spins out of due to the frenetic nature of these tunes, which might not be their best, but half ass from these guys dominates most of the flock.