Forteresse : "'THÈMES POUR LA RÉBELLION"

This Quebec based black metal band, blasts into things with a feral frenzy that is very calculated in it's rage. They have more in common with Agalloch than Darkthrone. It's kind funny as this album is an exploration into their heritage, that if a Scandinavian band did the same thing they would be branded as nsbm or racists for having that kind of pride, but since Canadians are not seen in that light it's just fascinating lyrical content. The lyrics are snarled in such a way that they are largely buried by the wall of guitars that goes speeding by.Truth be tole their attack of their instruments is fairly nondescript. This could be any black metal band that came out in the past five years. There is a fair balance of atmosphere, but nothing that really makes me take note and say o.k this is their signature.

There are some cool sonic moments on the third song, but it hovers in a blast beat blur with the faint clean vocals that fly through the background offering the most color. "Le sang des Heros" finds the band flashing their teeth their most fiercest intensity. It's easy to get caught up in the power the race along with, but if you listen really closely what else is there?  Are the type of person who is impressed by heaviness alone and need little more to sustain your listening interest or do you care about nuance? Oh, but black metal isn't about nuance...you scream. Well the best black metal is. The shock of the second wave is over and done with. There will never be another "Blaze in the Northern Sky" nor does there really need to be. Not that they are trying to recreate what Darkthrone did, but I am not really hearing who they are.If who they are is sounding like everyone else, then how can that be what black metal is about? If I am asking too many questions of metal, then go back to sleep.

While they have speed, they some how manage to keep the songs from sounding too similar though conforming to the norm. So I find myself listening for what is different? What sets these guys apart. I got that they can play a blast beat. Their drummer is good. If he sucked this album would have been doomed. It's not until "Vesperales" that more cascading pattern emerges and lifts this into a more dynamic place sonically.The last song is an extended outro that really could have been cut down to conserve bloat.They guys have excellent energy and execution for that I'll give this album a 7.

Spectral Wound : " Terra Nullius"

It's clear from the onset what I'm signing up for as this band from Quebec comes out of the frosted gates with a blasting snarl that is paying homage to the second wave of black metal from the 90s. They shift into a more Watain like stomp, but some how manage to avoid all Dissection influence, which must be a love for punk. This over 180 bpm nastiness has a certain honest quality that makes this work more than if they were trying to be Deathspell Omega one minute and then messed up their groove by going into something like this which is what I have run into in this afternoon's last ditch attempt to make sure I have all my upside down crosses crossed before I start on my best of black metal list for the year. They bring the buzz of tremolo picking to a boil as the drums slow on "A Nobler Rot" then stir it up again against the squeal of feedback that sounds like it could have been recorded at their practice space if not for the big guitar sound  they lock into on the accents.

The longest song clocks in at just over eight minutes, so these guys are blazing the northern sky too fast to get lost in a drone. The longest song "Winter Light' does slow down to gather some hypnotic steam and is the first dramatic change of pace for the band. The song eventually gathers speed and fades into the background a little as their approach held up until you hear what else they can do then it seems like a default. "the Hammer and the Flute" finds them adding some venomous rage to the blast attack. There is a slight hint of thrash in some of the accents. Things slow down again for " A Cool Dark Place" and then erupt again like a volcano in hell. They race against themselves with the drumming making it another test of his endurance. They switch it up all within the expected confines of traditional black metal, nothing that is going redefine the genre.

"White Heaven In Hell" has more of a older  Burzum like drive to it mixed with some of Bathory's rawer pre-viking punk. They shift into a faster take on this and it sounds a little rushed,  and the snare sound gets stale. So more than four songs in I begin to get numbed out by what they are doing even though there are moments like the more thrashy bridge in this song that are cool , but don't make the song. I'll round these guys up to a 7.5 as they certainly believe in what they are doing and do that well.  If you like fast traditional second wave black metal check them out for sure.



4.7