Here is a French goth band that is getting it right. Not dramatically removed from the Siouxsie school of Batcaving, they have some 80s new wave sounds in the mix that help give them their own sound that is relevant in 2026. Bands like this are why gatekeeping is important it is not about shunning other bands but making sure awesome bands like this find their right audience. If you don't get that sentence, then stop reading now. There is more of a cold wave dance vibe to "Fine," as it is more organice an the guitar does not come in until midway through.
"Obscure" finds them beginning to play it safe, and sticks to the more familar 90s thump of their drum machine. Then the album begins to thankfully take a darker turn. The bass lines are not breaking new ground but are effective. The bass playing breaks from the drone on "Velvet Dawn," giving her a chance to let her voice dance with a different cadance. "Burn" is not a cover of the Cure. It's not that dark or driving. "DERT" drifts by on a more atmospheric cloud.
They switch things up for the some what moodier and more dynamic "Sad Gravity," which might be the album's best song. The more melancholic pulse and nuanced vocal melodies. It also builds into the sonically heaviest part of this album. Then they go into the more dancefloor-minded take on post-punk with "Delilik" and "Last Dance," which centers around a more Cure-like bass line, closing the album. The haunting moan of her vocals grows more hypnotic here. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me; they refine all the things that already work well when it comes to the sonic scope of goth.It is just as relevant as the new Boy Harsher.
This album sounds great, but there is some weirdness going on as this is a French bandd playing Nordic music. If you know history, you might be aware that the French and what became Norway didn't have the best relations during the Viking years, so cosplaying Vikings is an odd choice, but ok. When it comes to songwriting for this sort of thing it can be a mixed bag the second song finds things clicking more, though there is a bit of frolicking going on. Once again this album sounds great, so from that angle they have everything covered, but we already have more legit acts doing thiss sort of thing, so they need to put some distance between themselves and those or this is going to sound like something I have already heard.
The female vocals take the lead on "Ratatoskr". It is more atmospheric. It goes off in a more hypnotically droning direction that is a little darker. "Dokksalir" is both more solemn and has a little more dance in its boots. "Utgard" is also heavy on the ambiance, as the female vocals continue to be the main voice of this album. The male throat singing follows in and trades places, but not as a call-and-response as you might expect; instead, it transitions into what feels more like another song. It works well enough for what this is, but the songs are beginning to have a similar feel.
"Ek Skal Rida" carries a more ambient, ritualistic feel, with spoken-word vocals serving as the narrative. This would also make this feel more like an interlude, except for the fact that this track is six and a half minutes; they do chime in with a chanted vocal just before the midway point. Sometimes they build to a more rhythmic chant that creates more of a groove. It sounds good, but when it comes to songwriting just riding chanted drones is not much to work with. This does not build off of something that would set them apart as it's what they need.
Heiemo" is a little more haunting, with a primitive pulse to it. But it is also not doing anything new, which is the swamp these 'vikings" find themselves in. Sure, Heilung got huge for what they do, but that does not mean we need more of that. "Veit barni" finds the fiddle setting the tone; hell, they might even get a hurdy-gurdy in the mix. It's the darker ambiance at the periphery of the song that makes it interesting. But as a two-minute instrumental, there is only so much they can do. There is a more cinematic feel to the last song. There is some chanting and growled muttering as they keep a steady thump with their hand drums. I will give this album an 8. It works for what they are doing, but what they are doing has been done by more authentic sources. I guess Napalm Records felt the need to have a band like this on the roster, so here we are, as it's the band's first album for them and drops September 25th.
This month has helped prove to me that old school metal has not gone anywhere it just went back to the undergrounds where it belongs. This is the second album from this French band. The first track just focuses on the galloping guitar harmonies. "Ghastly Obsession" finds them locking into a pretty effective chug. The drum are admittedly programmed, but sound pretty real. The vocals come in with a commanding snarl.
What they are doing on "the Executioner " falls some where between classic Destruction and how Power Trip resurrected this sound. The vocals take on more of a growl for this one as well. The melodic guitar section giving them a more "Masters of Puppets" moment. They use a sung more power metal like vocal on "Soldier of Fortune" , which creates more sonic colors overall, though a brighter feel to the song. They balance it out with more feral speed metal attacks. The sung vocals return for "Charme Funeste". Oh yeah it bears saying that these guys sing in their native tongue, so if that is a deal breaker for you then there you go.
"Primal Conquest" Finds the snarled vocals trading off with a hookier sung vocal on the chorus. The last song opens with melodic clean guitars. It goes into the predictable thrashing, with twin guitar harmonies, though sung vocals eventually resurface. I will give this album a 9 not only did they nail a sound but they car about songwriting. It drops July 10th on Gates of Hell.
This band from France is, in some ways, like a more high-speed Kamelot. The vocals are the kind of dramatic yodelling that some times allwos it's over the top delivery to sacrfice the hooks in favor of vibrato and power, which might be why I do not give new musicc like this much of a chance and tend to stick to the classics who were not influenced by other metal bands but rock or prog bands so they jsut added the metal to the equation rather than trying to emmulaqte it. I guess Helloween is the first band that I noticed was trying to be like another metal band in this regard. The Iron Maiden influence was obvious, though now listening back, I can hear some Scorpions. With these, Queensryche and Iron Maiden are the big ones, but their gallop needs to be dialed up to fully capture the epic quality.
These guys are releasing this album themselves so there are some budget constraints in the production, though the layers of vocals were given some love as they still manage a very larger-than-life sound until it gets to things like guitar solos that are sometimes sitting back in the mix rather than stepping into the spotlight. 'Walls of Past" is the first song where it feels like the barrage gets chaotic until the layers of guitars settle in. Less is more when it comes to this sort of thing, and when they give the vocals room to not have to yodel over things, it works best. Maybe 10 bpms slower would have benefited them and made it have more purpose. It feels like they are all over the place here.
"Tell Me Why" has a similar energy as the previous song, but a little more purpose, and the vocals benefit from this. Though another problem is revealed in the chorus, as it sounds too bright and is not dark enough for me. The lyrics are not that great either. If you want a band that will dedicate a section of a song to a guitar solo, these guys are for you. There is a more Iron Maiden-like sound to "Rise Again," but it brings that Helloween feel to mind. Sure, this guy can hit high notes, but I would be more impressed by hearing some low ones as well; it's not range if that is all you do.
"As Darkness Falls" should certainly feel darker, but will it ?" Well marginally. The vocals are grandiose but not catchy like something Maiden would do that gets stuck in your head, though this is an improvement, and perhaps the best song so far. A beefier guitar tone would also benefit these guys, though I know they like this one for the shredding. 'The End of the Road" finds them slowing it down enough to gain more purpose. This makes it another one of the album's strongest songs, as they are approaching things with more wisdom as the slower build creates the dynamic Overall they did a good job of making the album they wanted to make on the budget they had, so for that I will give this album an 8 as they are formidible musicians. .
This band from France plays a 90s-influenced take on burly indie rock. Sonically,, it finds its place between shoegaze acts like the Catherine Wheel, and post-hardcore/alternative acts along the lines of Failure and Hum. Plaintive vocal weave over the fuzzed-out bass lines, and angular guitar jangle that intersects on the opening track "Avoider". I went into this knowing nothing about the band, but the first song works well enough for me to stick around and listen to more. "Desire Path" has a more Cure-like path, and vocals are sung with a breathy emotion behind them. The moodier vibes work for me here. Almost predictably,, they stomp on their distortion pedals. They have both dynamics and melody in play,, so that is half the battle.
The woozy guitar effects you expect from shoe-gaze surface going into "Here the Mermaids Play". There are more nuanced guitar licks than what you normally get from this sort of thing, which helps set them apart. "Rituals" has more momentum as the drums give it more drive. There is also an underlying aggression to the riff's attack. Things begin to find a more grungy jangle on "Silhouettes". There is a more morose mood here that works for me more than even the previous song. The vocals are oddly dry for a great deal of the album,, though the production tricks on them here work well. There is more of a slacker strum to "Red Herring". The vocals come in softer, electronic elements ate introduced, as you might begin to suspect the sessions for this album might not have been as organic as the albums from the 90s. It's a weird turn for the album.
"Skins Make One" is another turn in a more shoegazing direction. The almost whispered vocals slowly drift to the front of the mix. The guitar tones that create the wall of sound lead you into an impressive. It works off a similar formula to what Deftones use these days. "Bleeding at the Door' has more of indie rock feel, but coming from a more post-hardcore place. They ebb back down into sheogaze for "Origami", and by this point I am beginning to feel like their ppst-hardcore leaning songs are more original as this is a little more in Deftones zip-code again. The last song 'My Lips Taste Like the Ocean" rides the line between the two genre's , Overall this album is an impressive display of these 90s sounds being fused into songs that would have worked then and still resonate today. I will give this a 9.5.
The first from the French band's new EP kicks off with the kinda of woozy vibes you expect from shoegaze in 2026. Especially given how pronounced the nod to the 90s guita5r tones they have dialed in. Where they set themselves apart is in the more indie rock feel of the vocals, This in some ways is more of a production choiuce, less effects on the voice and more forward placement in the mix, instread of the hazy whisper of shoe gaze vocals that are a more androgymous coo, that what happens here, where you can make out lyrics rather than it being the texture of a voice.
This carries over to a greater extent on the second song, "Screengaze," that finds the guitar ringing out more like the Smiths. The sullen croon of the baritone vocals might not carry the anxious tension of post-punk, but it comes closer to the genre than shoegaze here. This gives a strong argument in favor of them not just falling in line with what other bands are doing and setting themselves apart. This is also accomplished in the more nuanced vocal approach with this song. They are also very dynamic songwriters, and I think giving the vocal priority falls in line with this. This can also be felt in hte very organic flow of "Blurry."
The last song fnds the hesitant chords falling with a thought of deliberation. The vocal melody carries a pathetic drone that sets the stage for the more intense sonic build that grows around them. While this all sounds great, it is more of an abstract arrangement than a hookier songwriting formula they have managed to balance up until this point. Things get heavier, with shouted vocals accenting this, which was not the build I was expecting, but glad they were willing to go there. Overall, what they do here works better than most since they are writing songs and keep the vocals vital, this places them ahead of the pack when it comes to indie rock flavored shoegaze in 2026 so far, I will give this one a 9.5, and see if it keeps my interest as the year progresses.
This French post-punker Years of Shame lean closer to the more depressive moments of coldwave in the bleak opener to this album. The vocals are coated in effects, but this helps add another sonic layer that helps sell it as the droning throb aptivates my ears. "Heat" finds the beat shifting to a more anxiety-ridden tremble. The vocals are more forward in the mix and fall back on the chorus, which is an odd choice. The expressive manner in which they are delivered compensates for this. What is becoming clear is something common with this sort of thing, when it comes to the arrangements working off a simple throb as they follow the programmed drums, which leaves little surprise when it comes to dynamics.
The vocals are generally able to to compensate for this for the first few songs. "Violence" finds them shifting the dynamics on the chorus to conceal that the music is not doing much aid from a faint ebb and flow around them. They go from emotive to emo with the expressive pout the vocals take for "Primary Choice," but it is pretty catchy, so hard to complain about it. I can hear how this might appear to fans of newer projects like TR/ST, but it is also rooted in things like early Depeche Mode and "Pretty Hate Machine" era Nine Inch Nails. The guitar parts are mixed way in the back of the mix for some reason, but it works overall so far.
I like the darker feel of "ECHOES", though the entire album is leading you in the direction of the shadows, there are no whimsical "Love Cats" moments. "LIGHTS" is more of an interlude as it feels more like the idea of a song that was never a completed thought. "Terror" has more form and function it comes from the nu-darkwave school more rooted in indie rock like Boy Harsher, as it works a simplistic, murky pulse, but with less heavy breathing here.
The Verdict
The album really delivers when it comes to taking from a few sub-genres of goth and fusing them into something that pays tribute to the roots of the genre, while still looking to the future to keep the scene alive so I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me.
Technically, this is the French Synth wave purveyor's 3rd full-length since the first album wa a compilation of the eps. The opening track delivers what you expect, and the title track is hooky with its syncopated punch. They keep the momentum going, though the songs begin to run together for me about three songs in, as the uptempo drive of "She Rules the Ruins' sounds like video game music. I am not huge into instrumental music but have a surious respect for this genre and appreciate the aggressive nature of this music with its use of synths occupying the space guitars would normally occupy.
"Start Your Engines" continues to use the dance beat that the synth melodies bob over in a lighter fashion than some of the previous songs that sound more like an anime soundtrack. "Neon Requiem" indulges the more 80s-inspired side of the genres main stream tendcies and includes a saxophone dipping in for a minute. There is a marginally heavier pulse to "Iron Sanctuary".
There is more of a break beat to "The Misfits the Rebels," which hits with a more in-your-face energy when it kicks in, but ebbs back down to the more electronic shuffle. Artists like this can struggle with the balance of sound vs a song, since the entire genre is built on capturing this sound. But there are enough dynamics in play to prove he cares about songs. Funny enough to be called "Speed or Perish," the song is not the album's fastest and works off a pretty solid mid-paced groove.
Speaking of groove, the last songs find and almsot Nine Inch Nails-like groove. It's on the slower, more introspective side. Think "Fragile", not "Downward Spiral". In fact, this album is not all that dark or heavy, though perhaps heavier than some of the Miami Vice soundtrack styled synth wave bands, but aside from the title track and maybe two other songs, this album is less metal adjacent in its heavier leaning. I will give it an 8.5. If you are into this sort of thing in the broader scope, it is going to deliver the soundtrack to the dystopian future you fantasize about that is not as dark as the one I have in mind.
The French have been consistent when it comes to black metal. They also have a rich history in the occult, with actual sects of devil worshippers flourishing in the 17th Century. More melodic than I expected going in, it bridges the intro to the first proper song and takes its time getting to the metal. Almost two minutes before the guitar turns up and the harsh vocals bring their scowl. At 11 minutes, I understand setting the stage, but some fat could be trimmed. I appreciate the nuance that is allow breathing room as things build up.
I also like the creepy melodies running through this that bring the choir of ghostly children bakc like something from a horror movie. The vocals shift to more of a shouted declaration by the end of the song. What is impressive is how they have no real desire to just hit you with a bunch of blast beats and are more interested in maintaining the mood, which is very effective as it sets them apart, and when the blast beats do come have more purpose because they have already been balanced by a dynamic contrast.
There are several interlude-like pieces bridging the songs with church bells and choirs. They keep it creepy for "Le refuge," but it is not hooky either. To their credit, it is atmospheric black metal that is not trying to be shoegaze. The last song does not stray from this, so while there is a uniform feel to this album, it does have enough ebb and flow to work, so I will give this one a 9. It drops February 27th on Antiq.
As genres shift and evolve over the years, it is easy to forget their origins. This is why I was surprised by French screamo band Gros Enfant Mort. They remembered that screamo originated from emo, which was the more melodic and emotive version of hardcore that could be attributed to bands like Rites ofSpring and Sunny Day Real Estate. This album opens more in that vein, though they build things into the explosive intensity of hardcore. At times, they find and intersting middle ground between the two while singing in their native tongue. This makes their music less accessible to Western audiences but true to where they come from.
They reach the halfway mark of "3114" before slowing their feral punk attack into something more thoughtful. Another intersting element to their sound is how they approach the more hardcore side of the spectrum with little of the metallic sharpness, but a more cutting sonic depth that owes nothing to the more Slayer-influenced side of the genre. In fact, it is not surprising that the nuance and jagged clanging they groove on flirt with what Fugazi once did, with taunt bass lines holding the jagged stabs of guitar together. At times, they drift into areas that are a little less focused than the previous songs, arrangement-wise. The staccato verses work well, though.
"L'art de perdre" finds a more atmospheric guitar part as the foundation for them to throw their temper tantrum over. It works, but took a second listen for me to pay attention to what was going on. They are not totally detached from where hardcore is at today, as can be heard in the chaos of "Merci les cendres," that relies more on the math rock collision of the guitar. The stormy tension it creates is effective. They end the album with a more balanced melodic reflection. Though I question the choice of letting everything drop totally out to faint ambiance and trying to build back up from there, as it kills the mometum and makes it feel like two seperate songs. Nevertheless I will give this album an 8.5, as I appreciate what they are doing here sonically.
The Nordic folk duo Eihwar is oddly from France. They have a somewhat poppier take on a style brought to larger audiences by the likes of Wardruna and Heilung. The first two songs carry a great deal of frolic in how the melodies move. For some reason, they are connecting this to electronic music/ dance music, and maybe the scene in France has changed, but a song like "Ein" feels like neo-folk music, just with more emphasis on the percussive elements. The vocals are also very polished and do not have the raw throat quality of singing heard in many of the more pagan minded folk music, with a more liberal use of overdubs.
Some songs are more like interludes than actual songs, mainly building mood in a cinematic manner. For the purpose of this review, I am not going to count those. The title track has a more deliberate tribal drum, though the melody sounds almost more like Celtic folk. More droning and ritualistic than hooky. The song after this is catchier and works off a more pop-oriented formula, even with the more Viking pulse carried through the background. "Heil Odinn" has a lighter touch to the melody to counterbalance the more pounding drums.
"Omenotharena" is the first song that has anything close to a dance beat or electronics. The last song is a more ballad-like version of "Berserkr" which was used as a memorial, so it is more introspective and subdued. Overall, I like what is going on here as they do more service to songs than just getting all the ancient sounds right. I will give it a 9 and see how it grows on me.
This French band blends a few varied takes on the genre, perhaps best called death-doom if this label were to allow you to land more on the side of doom. The harsher scalded throat gurgle of the vocals is the one element that keeps them in the periphery of death metal. It is creepier sounding than it is aggressive. Thi is contrasted by a melancholy sung vocal that sometimes forms a call and response with the snarled vocals. This album marks the debut for the band, and as a first effort, they seem to have a very distinct sense of who they are as a band.
When they lean toward the death metal side of things, they do not do it conventionally. On "A Rose to the Sword' they use a tremolo-picked tension. The vocals are produced similarly as "Domination" era David Vincent, so there is a flanged sliver that creates an inhuman quality. They drop down into more melodic, almost traditional metal sections when the sung vocals are layered over this. They are very technically sound without getting caught up in it. The transition into "Our Love of Absurd" is a little awkward. When you are writing songs that sprawl out over the ten-minute mark, you think there would be enough time to write a cleaner ending. This song is doomier and finds the clean vocals leading the way on the verses. The melodic ache of the guitar is pretty effective.
"Perceptions in Grey" in gray follows a similar path to the previous song and transitions from it before finding its own identity as more of a funereal doom song. The vocals reach up into more tortured screams for this one. They pull off more rock star guitar solos. "Oneness' closes the album with a more melodic intro and slowly trudges into melancholy from there. At the eight and a half minute mark the drummer starts getting a little crazy as things build up. I like the gloom this album kicks up and their take on death doom I will give this one a 9. It drops on Sleeping Chruch Records on November 28th,
The French Black Metal band's 16th album shows Blut Aus Nord never makes the same album twice, and they are embracing every side of the genre here while cloaking them all in their signature atmosphere. It is like listening to a smoke machine envelop a band rather than just seeing it on stage. The opening track finds atmospheric black metal being pushed in new directions, while the pained moaning of the clean vocals cuts through the thickness of sound, bringing' Mercyful Fate's earliest incarnations of black metal to mind. There is the needed cauldron of blast beats and tremolo-picked guitars needed to identify their blackened intent, but not sounding like everyone else in the process.
"Seculsion" finds them wandering more into the murkiness of night, which is scaled out into a bigger, more epic climax that shows them taking what many bands would have left as just a hypnotic drone and carrying it to greater heights. Cleaner vocals continue to hold purpose n the punchier, more metallic attack of "the Ordeal". There is hookier, more riff-oriented writing here than what you might expect from them. "The Fall Opens the Sky" begins by adhering more closely to the tropes of second-wave black metal before transitioning into minimalist ambiance, then building into a more shoegazing sound.
"What Burns Now Listens" is a more hypnotic drone with vocals buried in the storm of atmosphere sweeping over you, thanks to the melodic chiming of guitars. There is an almost Nordic feel that reminds me more of older Enslaved on the last song. Though that is just the first four and a half minutes of what sprawl out into a 12 Minute epic. When it kicks back in after the minute of simmering, things are more grandiose and deliberate. It does wind its way into more metallic riffing that rings out and stomps in equal measure. There is a more progressive feel to the throbbing layers it arrives at. For some bands, this album would be ambitious for these guys; it' business as usual. I will give it a 9.5, as it touches on most aspects you want from them. It drops on Debemur Morti Productions on November 28th.
The addition of vocalist Camille Contreras has elevated the band's profile, placing them in a higher tier of metalcore alongside artists like Spiritbox and Jinjer. The first song has an effective enough hook, and Camille's pop sensibility balances things out; there is more from her harsher vocal on the title track. There are some progressive-leaning melodic elements added, such as more nuanced guitars and vocal dynamics. They do not delve into time signatures that are that far removed from the djent side of the genre.
"'All For Nothing" is like the metalcore version of a power ballad. There is nothing on this one that I have not heard Spiritbox do better on their new album. Really, the big difference between the two bands so far on this album is more guitar solos here. Things get quirkier and help distance themselves from Spiritbox on the song after this, with a more frantic electronic chaos unfolding. It borders nu-metal and djent. Using the metal-core formula to build into screaming. Predictable, but with shiny new pieces making the sounds for the puzzle.
Find myself having to go back and give these songs another listen as they are not grabbing me the first time around. "In Heaven" is another one that works off the metalcore-powerballad formula.It does finds its groove better than some songs here."Adam and Eve' feels like they just jammed off the previous song and took it in a more straightforward groove. "Sleepless Nights' is a little more nuanced in the songwriting department, but feels like it is chasing the heels of Spiritbox. Making me wonder if it's the label or the producer's fault.
"78 rue' is almost a more straightforward pop ballad. "CRC" Is on the more metal side of metal-core with an anthemic chorus , which is not the most original thing I have heard this year, but is effective for what they are doing. The last song is another power ballad that tries to make the most of their new singer's voice. I will round this down to a 9 as they are trying to fill a voice that has been filled; they need to find their own place, and they show promise in doing so here and care about the songs., with that said, they are at the top of the heap when it comes to bands gunning for Spiritbox's place in the spotlight.
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France's Corrupter opens this album with a seething storm of dense darkness, though when compared to the second song, this does not feel like a complete picture of what they are about. There is a more slithering grind to the riff when their feet are under them that makes better use of their songwriting capabilities. This does not mean they do not employ some of the lurking dissonance heard in the first song; in fact, they accelerate it to an almost blackened intensity at times. The dissonance they employ helps to set themselves apart from other death metal bands who bask in nostalgia.
A thundering wall of double bass sets "Permanent Storage Down Below" into motion. The low rasp of the vocals works well as the song's narrative, though things speed into a more rapid-fire storm. "Heading For Afterlife" carries a dense barrage with double propelling it more conventionally, a slight Morbid Angel vibe, though not as much as the second song. "Chasm of Atonment" finds them hammering into the barrage of double bass, which carries over into the title track that is less dynamic and pretty much just a blur of in-your-face guitar buzzing at you.
To the band's credit, they do keep their songs under the six-minute mark. In fact, only one breaks the five-minute mark. They slow things down and regain their footing for "In the Maze of Maleboge. The buzz starts off in a static buzz, and the drums steer the ship. They blast off again toward the middle of the song. They do assault you with some interesting sounds as things progress. 'Awakened From Beyond' closes out the album. It starts off with a more sludge-infused stomp before they lock into their own thing with this. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me, as far as death metal goes, it's not the hookiest album, but sonically often more interesting than most.
This is the French band's debut album. They play a unique style of atmospheric death metal. There is a fair amount of blasting and rumbling, but monks chanting and weird space sounds decorate this cavernous mix. The vocals vary throughout the main narrative; on the opening track tends to be a low growl. They are not trying to pay tribute to death metal's golden years but are stirring a dissonant cauldron sound. They do employ some black metal influences. They are most often heard in the drumming. The second song finds things in more of a half-time swing. The guitars are playing along by employing some tremolo-picked melodies to add to the blackened glaze over things.
The songs hint at occult intentions in their delivery and the mood created here, though the lyrics are obscured as the vocals sit in the back of the mix. This leaves the vocals as more of a frequency. The choir of monk also factor into the ritualistic feel. By the third song, it's evident that their attention to atmosphere and melody is their strength, along with actually writing songs. The songs flow well, and the more explosive outbursts from the drummer do not take things off the rails. However, they come close at the beginning of the fourth song. Oh, yeah, and none of the songs have titles, just coordinates. The fourth song ebbs back and forth from a more weeping cascade of guitar that feels more black metal to faster, almost rushed blasts.
Five songs in and a hurricane of double bass brings in a devastating tide of straight-up death metal, that might provide the hammering that your average death metal fan has been waiting for if that is what they listen to music for. Not sure the sampling guy is making the most of his time as it just sounds like he left the water running in the bathroom sink here. They also end things with a bigger, more death metal sound. It sounds great, but is also more conforming to the standard death metal expectations, and while effective, it does not display their strengths as much as the first four songs did. I will give this album an 8.5, they are onto something cool here for their first effort out, and I hope the future finds them diving deeper to the darker atmosphere this album captures. This album drops on Signal Rex May 2nd.
Things are changing here at the ole Abyss. There is going to be a formal announcement soon, so this is the informal one we are branching out into podcasts. The blog in this format is not going anywhere, the podcast is just going to supplement the more editorial aspect of blogging, the Podcast will be solely opinion pieces and interviews, while my opinion is just peppered in here as I give a walk-through of these albums. Before we get into this since we are talking like friends here, I will be honest with you and let you know what has changed here over the years as I have expanded my reach writing for various other blogs which have ranged from Cvlt Nation to Treblezine to Ghost Cult Magazine, is I am often assigned albums I might not check out on my own.
On my first pass through these albums, I do write up here, where you get more of my honest opinion, which is edited down to play nice with relationships within the industry once I rewrite it for mass consumption. So this is an album that I would not have checked out if it was not assigned to me. I am pretty picky when it comes to progressive metal. There have been some progressive death metal albums I have really dug this year like the new ones from Sadist and Ancient Death. There have also been bands that incorporate elements of jazz. Progressive metal covers a wide breadth of definitions, Opeth provided an excellent one last year. This French band is in a neighborhood that borders bands like Cynic, but also the softer touch of bands that are not really metal at all like Dream Theater. Thankfully the clean vocals on this album do not sound like Steve Perry.
What sets them apart is the saxophone solos that find them melding with smooth jazz. Everything sounds too clean for death metal production. The vocals are too harmonized and fine-tuned, They end up sounding more like Weird Al Yankovic. If you are going to listen to everything with a fine-toothed comb to study the sweep arpeggios then this might be the kind of guitar playing you are into. By the time we get to "the Seed of Singularity," I am pretty bored with what is going on here. If their claim to fam is going to be blending jazz, then they need to be doing it like White Ward.
It could be argued that "The Equation of Abundance" has a more Meshuggah-like throb. It is less mechanical but also packs less of a punch. 'Specific Obsolescence" plays with atonal passage as the intervals are shuffled around like Pokemon cards. It flows better than some of the previous songs. It is also more melodic with an anthemic guitar solo. "Dissecting the Real" does employ some time signature choices that are effective and for the crow who likes to cross reference everything off a metronome, they will find the counts hold up. None of this conveys aggression being vented through their instruments in a manner that means metal to me.
By the time we get to "Concealed," they really have not progressed all that much as they are using the same formula as they did at the onset of this album. This album is very relaxing and almost put me to sleep. I will give this album an 8 based solely on the fact it is well made for what it is and people who are into this sort of thing should expect this to fall along those lines when it comes to their tastes for music that they like to refer to as metal, more than the mathematic work of art that people who are into guitar solos will flock to.
Here is the sophomore effort by this French band, which pays homage to European death metal of the 90s on the album. The burly gallop they lock into on the opening track is coupled with a commanding growl unlike early Entombed before they slowly developed the dense guitar sound that so many bands emulated. The riffs are more nuanced than the burly grooves of Entombed. The second finds them pouring on the speed, which is not as interesting as the more nuanced approach of the first song. "Ripped From Within" is more deliberate than the previous song, they use a more punk rock momentum.. The punches of the song, help reign in the momentum to set them up to slow down in a darker doomier passage. The vocals feel more like an afterthought on this song, yet this Venom-like charge of the drums helps propel them.
Things gain a head-banging groove with more purpose on "Crypt of Demented" The vocals sit back in the mix, telling me they are far from the focus of their songwriting and more of a repugnant texture. At least I know how to set my expectations for the rest of the album. Before pressing play I read about the Lovecraftian feel of the band and I am not hearing that. You cannot understand the lyrics so they are a mute point. and I do not think an album cover warrants placing a label upon a band, it is the music that does the talking for them. "Extremity In Morbity" finds them locking into a more trashing speed. The drumming is more nuanced than the guitar playing which continues to show a punk influence.
While the songs do not all sound the same, the scope they cover midway through the album is very specific. I like punk and death metal, but I am not sure I need the two to mix in something that is not hardcore. Their punk side has too many rock-and-roll vibes for this to be the case. Darkside Ritual, with its doomy stomp, is darker and more metal. They pour more speed in the thrashy "Blessed By Decay". The title track is powered by a few cool riffs, though it is more dominated by typical metal tropes. To the band's credit, they are very succinct in their songwriting and never drone. So even when they just blast off and take their instruments racing on the last song, they are smart enough to allow things to drop down to the more deliberate bass line. I will give this an 8, they are good at what they do and will appeal to fans who like gritty Swedish death metal that comes from France. Being brought to you by the fine folk at Redefining Darkness.
I liked this French band's first album, but can't find the view of it to job my memory, so perhaps it did not leave the lasting impression I thought. They are riding the line here between depressive black metal and atmospheric black metal that leans in the direction of black gaze on the first track with the wailing and guitars growing more distant in the tremolo buzz on the second song. By the time we get to the third song, it is obvious this album is not going to be as dynamic as I had hoped as it sounds almost just like the previous song. The cavernous product is a cool vibe but does not compress things into a more coherent song structure. Instead, it just echoes out into oblivion. Thus serving a sound rather than a song, with the spoken vocal passsage the main thing that distinguishes this from the previous songs.
"Transfiguration" is riffier, so this allows the more sonic swell of dynamics to work better against it. In many ways, it is more traditional in its approach to black metal recalling bands like Darkthrone. The howl of the vocals is convincingly anguished. Then on "Reticent Paroxysm" they revert back to to variation of what they were doing on the first three songs that is less compelling without the nuance to set this song apart from the blur of tremolo picking that is burying the drums but it does not sound like they are merely blasting.
The album closes with the almost fifteen-minute sprawl of "Triumph In Tragedy". The this point the vocals are pretty much just howling being consumed by reverb in the distance. There are marginal shifts in intensity, I am unsure what they had planned for all 15 minutes but it appears just to rest on this stagnant drone and scream over it. The change of plans occurs six minutes in when things break down into the strum of a clean guitar sound. This is something that could have been broken up to help the other songs. That reprieve lasts for less than two minutes and they have stirred things back up into the furious tempest of guitars. What they are doing is cool sound-wise, but there is a uniform atmosphere enveloping the album, though I think it's what they set out to do and well done for this kind of black metal so I will give this one an 8.
The French have a rich history of creating avant-garde black metal, let's see if this band falls into that or just blast beats us into oblivion. They start off as being more folky than what typically comes out of France, so suspecting blast beats to follow. The second song begins to conform to my theory as it reminds me of the raw black metal coming out of Finland, think Horna here, but the vocals carry an angrier rasp. Shifting into more of a march feels better to my ears and the vocals drop into a more deliberate growl as they shift gears for a third time in this song. Nothing groundbreaking in the first song, but they are good at what they do and seem to be angry enough. Two minutes in things drop down to the strum of a guitar for a measure and build back up so a few surprises.
As the album progresses they prove themselves capable of creating a more melodic throb that sometimes adheres to the more conventional aspects of metal. "Je Crois" is more conventional metal with the deliberate gallop it takes on making me think of early Iron Maiden, but with vocals croaking in agony. The more traditional approach to the metallic gallops they ride into victory upon, sets them in a similar stylistic zip code as Immortal, just without the big grandiose production that creates the booming epic nature. By the time it gets to "Orion," I am now always expecting big metal gallops. This makes the more aggressive thrashing of "Contre l'Homme" more jarring until they get saddled back up to storm the gates of Isengard. The guitar is more tremolo-picked which reverts to the more basic confines of black metal.
Things bubble up from a more minimal melody into an authoritative stomp for "In Ululatis Abyssi." With this, the song carries more form and function, with many headbanging accents. The title track marches off a darker throb while still waving metal's victory flag in an interesting marriage of sounds. All of that was drawn from the first minute of the song. "Peste Eternelle" rages in a more black metal direction, as they charge forward with an angry cheer. It works well enough, and is a dynamic departure from the more traditional metal sounds they lead us to expect. The last song reflects some of the themes from the opening track, they are run through a more tremolo-picked black metal that is a more wrathful attack with a darker turn. It is not a whole album of this but bookends the album with the more expected tropes of black metal while casting an apocalyptic shadow over things This evolves in variations of this that play off a wider range of metal history, I'll give this album a 9 it's a fun listen and I appreciate what they are doing here.
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