MORTUAIRE : "Monde Vide"

 

France is often thought of as an exporter of Black Metal but here is a death metal band to challenge that notion. The members hail from projects like Year of No Light and the Great Old Ones, which helped pique my interest. There is an interesting old-school production choice. Things are organic and open sounding, rather than cavernous or the in-your-face basement jam sound, They draw from early death metal that traces back it its thrash roots. This works better on the opening track than the second song that chugs along perhaps too similar ground. 

Things do not change until the title track brings more of a darker melancholic doom tone to the table. The vocals take on a more anguished growl. This shift does provide the album with a needed dynamic shift. Comprised of only five songs, every minute counts. This song indulges in ten of those minutes and uses them more wisely than the previous song, which did not suck it was just too close to the opening track sonically. After giving this one a second listen I appreciate the atmosphere and the somewhat sung phrases. "Tranchant' has almost an Entombed-like groove to the buzz saw grinding of the guitar. Much more death metal, than doom, though it does not focus on double bass speed. 

The last song does descend back into doom but the broad strokes of it feel like they are resisting themes we have already heard them bang around with on this album along with some of the more typical death metal tropes being involved though run through a filter of a darker and more dismal vision of death metal for what it is worth. I will give this album an 8, I think they have promise as a unit, but know they are more capable of thinking about of the book given the project they have hailed from. The key selling point is this is death metal that captures the grim futility that doom celebrates. This album is being released on World Eater Records. 

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The Great Old Ones : "Kadath"

 

This band from France's first album released in 2012 was so impressive that thirteen years later I find myself once again listening to them four albums later in hopes they will recapture that magic when all evidence in three albums released since then points in the direction it will not, they have ranged from better than average to being an impressive black metal act, but their mission statement has been to bring a Lovecraft inspired theme to black metal. They did this on the first album by using a more surreal,  shoegazing atmosphere that captured the mood but has only followed it up with music that follows the status quo even when it comes to forward-thinking black metal bands. 

The first track to this album has me fearing more of the same, but the second song shows a glimmer of hope peering up from the depths of the bleak evil they should be pursuing more actively. One change with the band that influenced this is the addition of drummer Julien Deana. The rest of the band is the same line-up that recorded their 2019 album. "In the Mouth of Madness" might as well be Watain, who sounds more Lovecraftian in their more esoteric moments than the way the guitar attacks here. The sung vocals mixed in the background are a nice melodic touch but the sonic barrage feels like it holds less of their thumbprint and conforms more to the standard of black metal. There needs to be more atmosphere. After all Black metal should never conform to any standard even its own. 

"Under the Sign of Koth" is a rapid-fire rager, that thrashes out with much aggression. Not that we have ever heard a black metal band do that before. Feels like a mix of Dissection and Enslaved.  I'm not a fan of 15-minute songs, so it's going to take Cthulhu themselves coming out to play a bag of pipe solos to convince me on this one. There is a great deal of jamming. It feels like the song ends at the five-minute mark and what picks up from there should be a new song.  It feels like the spoken segment in "Stonehenge" which might be the album's most Lovecraftian moment. They do go into a more sweeping post-roc jam, but I am not sure if it needed to be drawn out like that.

They go back to the blast beats for the last song, which has the familiar buzz of 240 bpm tremolo picking.  I will give this an 8.5, which means this is more well-written than the past three albums but still does not touch the first album, however, it's pretty authentic Black Metal that sounds like they are from Sweden even if they are from France. 

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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

  . 

 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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the Great Old Ones : " Cosmicism"

It's a great month for atmospheric French bands . For a album to be Lovecraft themed and not join our Halloween features it lets you know how dark we get things around here. for Gothtober  There is more of a black metal feel to this one.  Rather than going for more over forms of creepiness, they are sticking to black metal  just giving it an undulating pulse.There is a more sinewy feels to the guitars then I remember them having . This is a great deal heavier than previous releases . Right down to the snarl of the vocals it is also a great deal more black metal. There is  a darker chanted section on "Of Dementia", but it is also countered by a huge dense chug. "Lost Carcosa" is more aggressive and plays closer to the safe sound spectrum of black metal. There are some really interesting riffs thrown in along the way, but the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make.

There is more dissonance to "Thousand Young". The vocals are beginning to make me think more of Immortal. I like when they are playing fast without blast beats . The guitar playing is really good and the guitar solos are certainly on point. The songs are dark for sure and took many a twist and turn. I would not say their sound is based upon atmospheric drone, but in someplace it can come to the forefront. They are more full blast ahead on "Dreams of Nuclear Chaos". It succeeds at being nuclear with it's power and chaos with it's composition. "Nyarlatholep" is darker and more deliberate. They have proved to me before that they know how to write songs. It breaks up almost like Pantera song with the bass holding the groove and a low more spoken vocal.

The album ends with "To A Dreamer". It is like most of the album dark and dissonant. The riffs kind of jumble together and I lose track of what is going on as it becomes a chugged blur. I give them credit it is not due to blast beat mania , though there is enough blast beats to satisfy most black metal fans unless you are looking for old Darkthrone and in that case go listen to old Darkthrone. I will round this down to an 8. It sounds great and starts strong though the deeper into the album the more variation I need that I do not always get.

the Great Old Ones : " EOD - A Tale of Dark Legacy"

of the biggest cliches in metal is for the band to say in interviews to promote their forth coming album is going to be heavier this time around if not their heaviest album to date. After all who wants to hear... " this is barely metal , we are really wussing out on this one" Well have no fear here, this French band is back harder with the black metal dialed back up to rival the fury of their older work. Though this doesn't mean it's their most dynamic album as in order to capture the heaviness some of the more Alcest like elements we have heard from them in the past are dialed way back if not forsaken entirely. "When the Stars Align" is pretty much just a sonic slap of blasting heaviness front to back.

When they slow down into the throbbing of "the Ritual" there is more substance and it allows the guitars to shine in the murk. Midway into this song the drums speed things back up into a blast. Then it ebbs back down around the seven minute mark into some really stunning guitar work that excels at not shredding, but a lush atmospheric tone. They do pull out some pretty tasteful solos on the next song, but it's the sounds that are more of the key selling point with these guys for me. There is a more aggressive mid tempo attack to "In Screams and Flames"  that is heavier than when they go into balls to the wall blasting. They hold off on the blasting until the final two minutes.

They close the album with an 11 plus minute epic. When you write songs about HP Lovecraft stories dark is really the only way it can go. It doesn't drag, but doesn't really pull me in and falls some where in the middle to become a pleasant pulse in the background. I'll give this one an 8, which means while it is a move in a heavier direction it might not be as inspired without the depth of melodies we have heard from these guys in the past.

The Great Old Ones: "Tekeli - Li"

The French Lovecraft worshipers are back and heavier , the more Alcest leanings have given way to a more churning almost atmospheric death metal element. They share more in common with their country men in Deathspell Omega on this one. From the onset the riffs are catchier pit churners like if Behemoth stumbled upon shoegaze. Sure the black metal elements are there but only in the same way Deafheaven is at times black metal...o.k maybe more black than that as they won't be playing Bonnaroo anytime soon. But this album will open them up to a wider audience as the riff have more meat to them, the kind most metal heads can head bang to without the atmospherics taking away too much of the thunder.

They are heavier , but there is a certain dark and ethereal sprawl that seems to have been a little more streamlined,as the song writing process here is refined. It's taken more listens for this album to click with me than their previous efforts.The more I listen the more the balance of the heavier direction seem to make sense, it's much more intense listen , though less moody which is what I normally go for in music.

They toy around with atmosphere on the beginning of " The Elder Things" the piano line gives way to a more Enslaved crunch, though in some ways it reminds me of a less viking Moonsorrow as well. Fans of more straight up cvlt black metal will be pleased by some of the more blasty moments.These capture the type of drone early Darkthrone had been with more technique.  I can also hear shades of  Negura Bunget here, but there is little that really makes you say "oh, those guys must be from France they sound like Alcest or Deathspell". Which is one of the strengths to metal coming out of France is the highly creative nature and the embracing of the individual voice.

"Awakening" has more of the moody doom creep to it, as they sludge out the dismal clamor of the chords, before building it up into a very deliberate pound. One thing I like about these guys is for a black metal band you can hear the bass.The begin the ebb and flow that is more familiar on this song , dropping down into more sedate and droney passages of darkness. Though here they pound out of them with a renewed fury.

They waste no time getting back to the blast in "the Ascend" which at this point for me is like a band reverting to punk rock.The velocity is deafening and some of the chances at melody get lost in translation. The drumming is impressive there is not doubt the dude had monster stamina.It's just very one dimensional.

They redeem themselves on the monolithic 17 minute epic "Behind the Mountains". They blur into a pretty mean quick paced assault but it has enough tempo changes and accents to make it interesting.It dives down into a more brooding and beautiful section at the 5 minute mark, giving room to breathe and allowing space for dynamics. There is some really expressive guitar playing in the middle of the song, the growled vocals begin to all sound the same midway in. They are an anguished mid-range, well done for what they are , but what they are is only one shade. There is some spoken word narrative.

One of my favorite moments is when they reach the sweet spot more metal bands need to aim for in the songs final six minutes , where they are heavier sonically than they are metal. It brings a beautiful transcendental quality to the music and is one of the things I love about black metal when it is done right. It make the blasts that follow a little more palatable.A minute at that speed goes a long way. I will give this album a 7 as the defaulting into the blastiness, seems like taking the easy way out ,when they shown the greatness they are capable of.    

3.5

the Great Old Ones : Al Alzif

I had initially heard this French band was shoe gaze , like an ALcest sort of affair with a thing for H.p. Lovecraft. The Lovecraft part is true, aside from country of origin they don't have much in common with Alcest, being that they have a denser darker sound and sure their is a sonic dreamy quality to some of the sounds coming from the guitar but it really streaches the bounds of what I consider shoe gaze.

The album soars off with the title track, the guitar is soaked in reverb and delayed but not always overpowering the metallic nature of the guitars. The first song has a lot of drive to and the ambiance of black metal with out laying it on to thick with the blasty. There are elements of other things here and influences can be traced but they way it's all assembled and presented is pretty original the closet comparisons I could make if pressed to do so would be its in the same territory as Deafheaven and old An Autumn for Crippled Children.

Midway on the first song we get a melodic break down, with whispered vocals, not the cherubic croon of Niege, it builds not as dramatically as Alcest but in layers and then launches more along the lines of Desfheavne into the dizzying sonic storm clouds. The vocals on the first song are pretty one dimensional screamed midrange and are no where close to being the vocal point, the guitar is most centered in the mix.

"Visions of R'lyeh" has a more straight forward vocal pattern and the chug drives in a straight line as well, there ate a few break downs and the drums switch up the patterns with their accents but for the most part it's a constant barrage. while some may like to keep it simple I think the thistle albums weakest moment but even then it's still decent , they just display more interesting dynamics throughout the rest of the album making this sound a little like filler.

"Jonas" Comes in with a very heavy syncopated crunch, al,ost like something you would expect to hear on a Converge album, it backs away into a more surreal drift for the growls to close in upon and returns the the heavy riff. There's a drones undercurrent the leads into the blast section, the drums subtle tricks keeps it churning in the right direction, the half time feel is another Deafheaven like part leading up a middle section where they bring it down a notch for an Agalloch like spoken word croak the narrate the chords being allowed to drift and ascend. The constantly push forward through out this song and there is always a sense of motion.

"Rue D'Ausell" Has a string intro which mourns around the delicate guitar which twinkles in. By this time I have really begun to appreciate the guitar playing so by the time the solos come in I'm sold. It's the way they are introduced rather than any type of sheer shredding that makes them work. The vocals have some variance in delivery not not tone, as they are hammered into place with more of a hardcore cadence. There is also a wider variety of Majick tricks up there sleeves with fills, accents and punches. Compositionally this is one of their most original arrangements, while not gaudy its the type of road map you would expect to be following on an Opeth album.

"the Truth" has a more spacious intro than the previous songs, the growls slither in underneath the bass line, the tremolo shimmer cues the build and it seems like business as usual. Rather than take the easy way out and blast the hell out of there they allow the song to breath a bit , it reminds me of Blut Aus Nord a little when this happens as well as some of the sonic textures. The truth is though it ends up wandering around and all roads lead to blasty though credit is due that it doesn't happen when you expect it.

The big finish is the ten minute " My love for the stars" it takes the first minute to find up into the big riff and from their is a nice excercise in dynamics. It hit that sweet spot for me of being a good balance of sonic heavy versus metal heavy. the bass helps drive this once once it hits the stride of its gallop. The guitars are the sonic sugar of the icing atop this wedding cake in the marriage of ebb and flow. It's the kind of arrangement only Agalloch seems to pull of in this type of metal.

While the second and fifth songs arent bad , when set against what this band is capable of they come across as filler and when I score albums I divide the number of good songs against the total number of songs, for filler if it has some redeemable qualities I give it a half a point so for that reason I rounded their score up to an 8.5 Becuase the songs they hit the mark on they do it powerfully and with originality . This one might make my top ten list for the year, if not then I'll make a top fifteen as it needs to be recognized an do look forward to hearing more from this band.