Temple of Baal

Temple of Baal - Mysterium
Agonia Records, 2015
Genre: Black/Death Metal

1. Lord of Knowledge and Death
2. Magna Gloria Tua
3. Divine Scythe
4. Hosanna
5. Dictum Ignis
6. Black Redeeming Flame
7. Holy Art Thou
8. All in Your Name






For some reason I entirely missed out on this release when it first hit. It wasn't until a couple years later that I was looking through a distro and realized I didn't have this album. So, I ordered it immediately since I've been following Temple of Baal for quite a long time now. After "Verses of Fire" I was expecting more of the same, but "Mysterium" delivers a rather different experience overall.

The major difference with this release is the fact that long time guitarist Alastor has left the band. It seems this happened while they made "Verses of Fire", because if you read the liner notes it says "Extended thanks to Alastor. Best of luck in the new life you've chosen." For "Mysterium" they've recruited Sathor from The Order of Apollyon and he also is a live guitarist for some other very notable French projects. Some of the issues I had with "Verses of Fire" where they tried to infuse aspects of their earlier sound into the material are, essentially, gone at this point. "Mysterium" is a far more focused album, but there feels like a bit of a drop in the crushing intensity and instead they build more of an atmosphere into their overall sound. Some riffing reminds me quite a bit of Hell Militia and Aosoth being blended together. They still cast these elements in a far more Death Metal light, but this is one of the more cohesive albums Temple of Baal have put out in quite a while. I would like to hear some more of that intensity put back into the mix, because I always thought that made their songs sound a lot more vicious compared to other projects. If they can blend the two together more seamlessly they would have quite an incredible album on their hands.

If you've been a long time Temple of Baal fan then "Mysterium" will not disappoint. Some people may miss the infusion of the catchier rhythms thrown in, but I like how the album feels like an entire work, rather than a collection of songs that sounded good. I'll definitely be interested in hearing what they have in store for us next.

Temple of Baal - Verses of Fire
Agonia Records, 2013
Genre: Black/Death Metal

1. το αστέρι 418
2. Bloodangel
3. Arcana Silentium
4. The 10th Aethyr
5. Gates of Death
6. Gnosis of Fire
7. Golden Wings of Azazel
8. Lord of the Raging Seas
9. Serpens Luminis
10. Walls of Fire




After the material Tample of Baal brought to the split with Ritualization I was looking forward to their next full-length quite a bit. "Verses of Fire" does kind of continue in that theme, but the bring back some of their older styles into the fold. I have the digpak CD version of this and it comes with a very well done layout and full booklet. This album is also quite long with it clocking in at over an hour in length, which kind of surprised me.

Musically Temple of Baal continue to push forward with that ultra modern Black/Death style they've been developing over the past few years. I actually like the collection of songs on the prior split a little more than what's on this album. The album isn't bad, but it doesn't feel as cohesive or outright dark and threatening. There are too man moments where they hearken back to bringing in some of the Thrash riffing or a catchy phrase here and there from their earlier days. It's not that they're bad at writing these riffs, but they break up the atmosphere of the album quite a lot. I think Temple of Baal is just better at writing those dark and vicious or uncomfortable riffs and when they insert an outright Thrash riff into that type of song it really breaks the atmosphere they build. Some songs are outright similar to American Death Metal like "Golden Wings of Azazel". They do a great job of playing this style, of course, but it just makes for a strange blend into the overall mix of songs on the album. Though, they fit this song in a lot better than some of the random catchy riffs. Vocally Amduscias is adding a lot more into his range. Here you'll hear some outright yelling styled vocals that add an extra kick to some of their more atmospheric sections. It really works well within the framework they're using it and I hope he continues to add more of this variation into the music.

In the end, I do like "Verses of Fire" despite it being somewhat all over the place from time to time. They manage to keep it focused enough to make it quite enjoyable, but the razor sharp focus of the split made it apparent what kind of power Temple of Baal can wield if they stick with one framework. If you're a Black/Death Metal fan, Temple of Baal is producing some pretty intense and well written music.

Temple of Baal & Ritualization - The Vision of Fading Mankind
Agonia Records, 2011
Genre: Black/Death Metal

Temple of Baal:
1. Ordeals of the Void
2. When Mankind Falls
3. Slaves to the Beast
4. Heresy Forever Enthroned
Ritualization:
5. Ave Dominus
6. The Second Crowning
7. Devil Speaks in Tongues (Mortem cover)



Side Ritualization: ...coming eventually...
Side Temple of Baal:

It's been a little while since we've heard from Temple of Baal, which is a good sign they're taking their time with material rather than just cranking it out. So, it's interesting to see them return with only four new songs with this split. However, when you delve into it you'll see they've picked up a new drummer. Antares was a good drummer for the project, but after hearing this I feel like Skvm is a better fit. The drums feel so much more powerful and extremely tight with the project. So, however he's approaching the kit is instantly fitting with the sound of Temple of Baal.

The opening track "Ordeals of the Void" is a massive powerhouse that feels a lot more intense than anything they've really done before. They've lost a lot of that catchier riffing you'd see show up from time to time and instead focus on a much darker and intense atmosphere. I think production wise they finally found a decent balance for how much they want their music to sit in the low frequencies. They use a lot of Black Metal riffing in the French tradition, but have it recast in this far more intense fashion which works really well on the songs. As far as the Temple of Baal side of things go, I think this material sounds spectacular and I can't wait to hear what's in store for them next. I really hope this drummer sticks around too, because he's an extremely good fit for the project.

Temple of Baal - Lightslaying Rituals
Agonia Records, 2009
Genre: Black/Death Metal

1. Piercing the Veils of Slumber
2. Triumph of Heretic Fire
3. Black Sun of the Damned
4. Angstgeist
5. Dead Cult
6. Hate is My Name
7. Poisoned Words
8. Vectors to the Void
9. Blessings of Blackfire






It's actually been quite a few years since we've gotten a full length from Temple of Baal. The two prior splits were probably just to show that the project wasn't entirely dead. I remember being pretty excited when I saw this album come out, part of it had to do with the eye catching cover design and really excellent album title. Strangely, I remember my first listen wasn't all that favorable.

However, now that I return to this album years later, I think this is some really solid Black/Death Metal. Temple of Baal have always sort of been on that edge where there was still too much Black Metal in their sound to call them a truly hybrid. However, with their split with Aosoth it started to become apparent that some aspects of their sound might be evolving. With "Lightslaying Rituals" they truly overhauled their sound enough to be a full on Black/Death Metal band. I know some people might see that and think "oh, Behemoth", but that is definitely not the case. Temple of Baal sounds nothing like that. "Lightslaying Rituals" sounds way grittier and dirtier, almost like if you took the old Swedish Death Metal guitar tone and recast it into a Black Metal framework. their guitar lines have also gotten more elaborate and I hear a lot more layering than in prior albums. Production wise this album feels so much thicker than the prior albums. However, the low end might be a little too low and it winds up dominating the overall feel of the album. Other than that, this is the best production value Temple of Baal have ever released. It's kind of amusing to listen to this after all the posturing of their demo days where they seemed to revel in the trashy production quality.

In the end if you were expecting another old school Black Metal effort from Temple of Baal, you might find yourself sorely disappointed. Instead we have the brutal punishing sounds of Death Metal heavily infused into their sound. They still maintain some of those catchy riffs that show up on prior albums, but even if not all the riffs have that catchy quality they are pretty well written. Some of their outright Death Metal riffs could stand some improvement, but I think they are a bit out of their element in composing this way, so I look forward to see what they bring in the future. I can't remember why I initially didn't like this release, but on re-listening to this, I think it came out pretty good. It's a lot better than a lot of the Black/Death Metal bands out there.

Temple of Baal & Aosoth Split
Debemur-Morti Productions, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

Temple of Baal:
1. Dead Cult
Aosoth:
2. ... of Fire












Side Aosoth: ...coming eventually...
Side Temple of Baal:

Temple of Baal return with a new track and a split with a fairly unknown project called Aosoth. Aosoth is very interesting and plays a brooding style of Black Metal against Temple of Baal's hard hitting "Dead Cult". Temple of Baal pushes their sound even heavier and thicker for this song compared to the last album, I think. The writing feels a little more mature and cohesive as well. It still maintains that dark and vicious feel to their music so it really complements the Aosoth side as well. This is definitely a split worth checking out and it's beautifully pressed, as I've come to expect from Debemur-Morti products.

Ancestral Fog & Temple of Baal Split
Battlesk'rs, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

Ancestral Fog:
1. Fundaments of Life Denied
2. Von (Von cover)
Temple of Baal:
3. Living Fleshthrone
4. Satan's Legions









Side Ancestral Fog: ...coming eventually...
Side Temple of Baal:

This next split with Temple of Baal comes with a real treat in the form of Ancestral Fog. Ancestral Fog really stole the show for me on this split, but the Temple of Baal songs are pretty good too. As with all 7" releases I'm sure this is limited to some amount, but there is nothing listed on my copy.

Even though this eventually came out after "Traitors to Mankind" on the vinyl itself it has a date of 2005 and makes me think this was delayed in pressing. It would be weird for Temple of Baal to release "Living Fleshthrone" again right after their album hit, so that's why I think this wound up getting delayed horribly. "Satan's Legions" appears to be an entirely new track though. Maybe a track they didn't really feel fit on the album, but still good nonetheless. It actually reminds me of that disgusting feeling Black Metal we hear in projects like Hell Militia, only Temple of Baal is a bit heavier by comparison. Either way, regardless of the delay I'm glad this had something new to share instead of just the one track from the album.

Temple of Baal - Traitors to Mankind
Oaken Shield, 2005
Genre: Black/Death Metal

1. Living Fleshthrone
2. Traitors to Mankind
3. Graveyard of Disgust
4. Bleeding Thoughts
5. Under the Spell
6. Visions of Carnage
7. Crawling in Blood and Puke
8. Bitter Days
9. Death Inquisition
10. Flames of Baal





As a follow-up to their debut, this is not at all what I was expecting from this project. "Traitors to Mankind" really changes up their entire sound. Where we once had 90's Black Metal worship they've injected quite a dose of Death Metal into their overall sound. This time around a little more care was put into the booklet and design, so it's a bit more interesting to look at from a physical stand point. They also backed off from the posturing in the liner notes, which I'm thankful for.

"Traitors to Mankind" sounds and feels quite different from their earlier releases. The first two songs are solidly in the Black/Death Metal camp, but when we get to "Graveyard of Disgust" we hit more in their usual Black Metal territory. It's almost as if the band was transitioning to more Death Metal over the past couple years. One of the other reasons things sound quite different is they enlisted Glorior Belli and Black God drummer Antares to fill the drum throne left by Herr Rikk. I'll be honest, Herr Rikk did a good job on the early releases, but Antares is the better drummer. This album is also engineered in such a way that I can actually hear the kick drums, on all the prior albums they were mostly an incoherent rumble. So, it's a nice treat to be able to hear them this time around. They clearly weren't afraid to experiment more with this release, just listen to "Bleeding Thoughts". They wound up re-recording "Bitter Days" from the Sargeist split and it sounds so much darker and heavier on this recording. They've also started included guitar solos into their music. They're not over the top well done, so I don't really care about this addition to their music.

"Traitors to Mankind" maybe feel all over the place in terms of a general composition theme, but for some reason it really works to their advantage on this album. It winds up creating a really excellent blend of Black and Death Metal, with the occasional Thrash riff thrown in for good measure. It maintains that Black Metal atmosphere throughout which is really well done this time around. It feels somewhat new, but simultaneously old. All in all "Traitors to Mankind" is well done album that I still enjoy to this very day.

Temple of Baal & Sargeist Split
Grievantee Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

Temple of Baal:
1. Bitter Days
Sargeist:
2. Wraith Messiah












Side Sargeist: here
Side Temple of Baal:

After a successful debut Temple of Baal return with another split. I missed out on their first one with Eternal Majesty, but maybe I'll track that down someday. This time they team up with the mighty Sargeist. I like Sargeist a great deal, so it was a real treat to see two bands I like show up on a split like this. This is pressed on 7" vinyl limited to 500 copies.

If you enjoyed "Servants of the Beast" the song "Bitter Days" really does pick up where the full-length left off. It's interesting to note how much thicker the guitar tone Temple of Baal uses compared to bands like Sargeist, who are far more thinned out. Temple of Baal feels a little heavier than others for this reason. "Bitter Days" is a pretty good song overall and captures the atmosphere Temple of Baal seems to be striving for at this point, which is much improved from their demo efforts. Definitely a split worth having in any collection.

Temple of Baal - Rituals of Black Plague
Paleur Mortelle, 2003
Genre: Black Metal

1. Backstab
2. Tempting the Bastard
3. Deathblessed (At the Hornlike Spears)
4. Faces of the Void
5. Slaves to the Beast
6. Black War
7. Ruins
8. Woman of Dark Desires (Bathory cover)








Shortly after "Servants of the Beast" hit a live album was "recorded", which I assume took place on their tour supporting their debut full-length. This is released on cassette and limited to 300 hand-numbered copies and I own #112.

This is the Temple of Baal recording no one wanted. In fact, recordings like this are basically what no one wants around at any rate. They're just a waste of space in anyone's collection. Everything is massively blown out and has this layer of annoying distortion going on. You can hear the guitar riffs from time to time and they are the quality we expect from Temple of Baal, but everything else is such a jumbled mess that it's a real waste of time to listen to this material. The vocals are wildly blown out, but there is actually less distortion on the vocals than the on the "Black Unholy Presence" demo.

They try to cover up all this atrocious crap with having a super "true" attitude on the liner notes saying "Rituals of Black Plague has been released only for true underground maniacs. Direct raw live sounding roughly recorded." In other words, this sounds like absolute trash and if you don't like it then you're not a "true" fan. I need to stop reading the liner notes from this band... basically, unless you really must have a complete Temple of Baal discography, you can seriously skip out on this one. It's a giant waste of time and I probably will never listen to the whole thing.

Temple of Baal - Servants of the Beast
Oaken Shield, 2003
Genre: Black Metal

1. Backstab
2. Triumphing Blasphemy
3. Towards Eternal Death
4. Years of Hatred
5. Deathblessed (At the Hornlike Spears)
6. Slaves to the Beast
7. Ruins








Temple of Baal have teamed up with Oaken Shield, a subsidiary of the legendary Adipocere Records to release their debut full-length. After two demos that were good, but weren't incredible "Servants of the Beast" really show the band has something to show us. It seems the band has dispensed with some of the overly raw recording concepts and is also writing more interesting songs overall.

On their debut we don't see any of the material from their demos given the studio treatment. While some elements of their demo's style shows through, a lot has changed rather dramatically. They still stay pretty heavily rooted in the more early 90's Black Metal style, as we'd expect, but musically it reminds me a bit of early Deathspell Omega, Merrimack and Watain. The Watain reference is no real surprise seeing as how Danielsson did the cover. There's a great deal of early Thrash styled guitar lines thrown in as well. "Triumphing Blasphemy" has some seriously catchy guitar work, giving that reminiscent old Bathory feel. However, the blend is different enough to have the band stand out enough in the sea of similarly styled projects. The vocals are completely overhauled as well and it doesn't sound like Amduscias is screaming into a distortion pedal. Instead the vocals sound natural and gives a much better authentic presence. Instead he opts to create more intense moments through layering, not distortion.

We also have a full booklet with lyrics. Lyrics are the usual Satanic variety, so nothing vastly different there. There's even a thank you section! I always find it amusing when I read liner notes and this comes up "Deathwishes to nowadays 'BM' audience: You are nothing but slaves!" Okay, calm down cool guy... you're debut album is good, but not that good. "Servants of the Beast" isn't going to go down in history as one of the finest or most revolutionary Black Metal albums out there. Spare me the "tough guy" attitude in your thank you list. Plus, I think this particular viewpoint shows up on more Black Metal albums than I care to mention. If every band hates their audience then no one is listening to any of your music. Why bother releasing and distributing anything? I've never understood this bizarre viewpoint, just make music for yourself, don't release it, don't play shows. It's simple.

Despite these goofy moments, "Servants of the Beast" is actually a really good album and I enjoyed it quite a bit when it came out. I may not pull the album out very often, but when I throw it on from time to time I do find it enjoyable. Temple of Baal did an excellent job of nailing that mid-90's atmosphere of Black Metal, right down to the recording quality. This early 2000's era was one of the last times we'd be able to hear this from bands, since a lot of studios and bands were forced to upgrade their technology in general.

Temple of Baal - Black Unholy Presence
Chanteloup Creations, 2000
Genre: Black Metal

1. Tempting the Bastard
2. Black Unholy Presence
3. Spirit of Vertova
4. Black War
5. Faces of the Void
6. Woman of Dark Desires (Bathory cover)









"Black Unholy Presence" is the second demo from Temple of Baal and it's not too different from the first one. In fact you'll notice a lot of the songs re-appear on this recording. I missed out on the original pressing of this and instead I have the Oaken Shield pressing from 2002 limited to 888 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #321. The Bathory cover was not featured on the original release and is a rehearsal recording from 2001.

Given the fact that these demos are recorded only a year apart "Black Unholy Presence" doesn't have all that much more to offer us, except for a few new  tracks. The recording quality is, honestly, a little bit better. It still retains that old, raw rehearsal feel to the music, but they clearly used a much better setup this time around. With this we can definitely enjoy the riffs a lot better, so, if you're looking into some of that nostalgic feeling Black Metal, Temple of Baal certainly brought that with this new demo. Songs like "Spirit of Vertova" have that great blend of Black Metal intensity and groove, so to a certain degree I think their songwriting has improved even from the last demo. The only aspect of the demo that isn't great are the vocals. The vocals are so blown out that the vocalist might as well just be using a distortion pedal, and, in fact, that is probably what he was doing. These vocals never sound for a whole release. They work in subtle moments, but just usually sound terrible overall. That's really the only thing I found overtly annoying.

If you are a die hard fan of old school demos and Black Metal, Temple of Baal definitely don't disappoint. This is early 90's worship through and through. I like that they manage to stay raw on the demo, but not so raw you have no idea what's going on.

Temple of Baal - Satanas Lux Solis
Self-Released, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

1. Undead Soul
2. Tempting the Bastard
3. Spirit of Vertova
4. Hunters
5. Woman of Dark Desires (Bathory cover)
6. Black War










The is the first debut from Temple of Baal out of France. Some members would go on to be involved in some other great projects outside of this one. Amduscias has already worked with the likes of Antaeus and I believe it was through that relation that I had first heard of Temple of Baal. This demo is not professionally done and instead has a xeroxed booklet and dubbed tape. These were limited to 200 copies and inside mine it says #55, but it doesn't list the limitation.

"Satanas Lux Solis" is pretty much everything you'd expect from a raw and poorly recorded demo. It even says in the liner notes "This piece of darkness was recorded live in the fucking studio", which I assume probably means practice space given the quality of recording. And from there I assume this is just whatever was captured on a mixer, because I doubt there was much mixing after the fact based on how this sounds. However, the recording quality works for this type of music really well, that raw unbridled sound fits the aesthetic Temple of Baal is really going for. You can technically hear everything well enough to figure out what's going on. The only thing I might change a little is having the guitars louder so I can hear the riffs better. In a lot of ways Temple of Baal borrows their sound from Bathory, so it's no surprise that we see a cover of "Woman of Dark Desires" show up on this demo. If you throw in some Mayhem and Darkthrone you probably have a reasonable idea of what Temple of Baal is going for musically. Songs like "Black War" have some of that old LLN feel in the way the structuring is a bit more dissonant, which is something I like quite a bit.

I don't think Temple of Baal's demo is really going to stand out in the massive sea of Black Metal demos these days, however, I think "Satanas Lux Solis" is a solid start for this new project. I could see them writing pretty solid material in the future. If you're already a Temple of Baal fan you should check out where the project started, a journey that I always find rather interesting. I'm looking forward to what comes next!

Obscurité

Obscurité - Contemplation II
Ossuaire Records, 2015
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Invocation
3. Lointains chants dans l'horizon
4. Le Cosmos: Dans la fuite des saisons
5. Dans l'astrailité de l'esprit
6. Le Sanctuaire
7. L'impasse lunaire
8. In Regeneratione Solis
9. Erêbe
10. Outro





Obscurité wasted no time in getting back into the studio to release their second full-length and what a massive improvement in just a years time. Obscurité still manage to keep their core epic atmosphere as the main focus in the arrangements, but this time things have been pushed a little more. This CD comes with a full multi-page booklet this time and the lyrics aren't all crammed onto two pages. The cover and back of the jewel case are a little too dark though, it's one of those things where maybe what was on the computer screen didn't translate as well into a printed product. In this case things are a bit too dark. The booklet is beautiful too look at with its images of landscapes and has lyrics for one song per page this time, which works out much better.

After we get beyond the intro the first thing you'll notice is how much faster the opening song is. This came as quite the shock because we had just gone through quite a lengthy album of slow and quite lengthy material. For "Contemplation II" everything is pushed to the more extreme ends of things and now the album is conjuring up images of early Darkenhöld, which is a truly wonderful image to have. "Contemplation II" feels ancient and medieval and it's only enhanced all the more by the rare keyboard and choir work. Even the guitar tone is much improved on this album and I think a higher gain setting was chosen for this. I think the tempo increase gave Fog a bit more room to be creative since metal drumming is clearly his forté. Don't worry if you're afraid everything is all fast, songs like "Dans l'astrailité de l'esprit" hearken back to the first albums tempo. However, this time they serve to switch up the tempo of the songs and I find this a much more enjoyable experience than before.

If you enjoyed the first album, I can't imagine why this one would disappoint you, since this really just further advances on the first release. The material feels much better written this time around too and the guitar riffs are truly melodic and epic in nature, much more so than before. This project has turned into something really wonderful and I look forward to what's in store for us next, especially with this much improvement between releases already.

Obscurité - Contemplation
Ossuaire Records, 2014
Genre: Black Metal

1. Absolu
2. Païen
3. Contemplatio
4. Résistance éternelle
5. Réminiscence
6. Des ailes
7. Elégie
8. L'ivresse nocturne du ciel etoilé (Cycles)
9. L'aurore et la solarité






Obscurité is a fairly new project out of France and since I've always followed Ossuaire Records, naturally I would wind up with this on my desk. I was also pleased to see that Fog offered drum effort, so I knew the drumming would be quite good. He also offered layout and design treatment and the cover is quite arresting. The booklet which is only two  pages has all the lyrics for the entire album, but because it's on two pages it really does feel a bit crammed onto the pages. On Metal-Archives this is listed as Epic Black Metal for the genre, and so I wasn't expecting the usual fast paced barrage of our usual wall of sound.

Obscurité do have quite an "epic" feel to their take on Black Metal. It just feels ancient and slow moving with the way the material is presented. Blast beats are few and far between and instead the tempo is quite slow. It's, basically, down-tempo Black Metal, if you will. Blast beats are few and far between, but Fog does sneak them in there once in a while. Ash's guitar work is quite good and there are some really exceptional riffs on this release. It sort of reminds me of an album built around the more epic styled Bathory songs or a band like Macabre Omen.  I think the one complaint I would level at the guitars is I wish there was more gain on the guitars or something. When they perform the palm muting riffs it feels a little fuzzy kind of like the distortion settings Mütiilation would use, but that's my most major complaint. Vocally Ash is just okay, nothing exceptional in my book. It's sort of like when Demonaz put out his own album and it reminds me of that. They're not bad vocals, but they don't really stand out either.

In the end this is a pretty good first effort. For me, I'm not sure how much it will wind up in my future listening, because I tend to prefer the faster variant of Black Metal. This being the case "Elégie" is probably my favorite song on this album. I usually like the slower tempo Black Metal as a song or two on an album to break up the monotony of blasting/speed which a lot of Black Metal ends up sounding like. However, if you've ever listened to those songs and said "wow, I wish I had a whole album of this" then look no further, Obscurité is an absolutely fine choice. Ash does a great job of executing that style and making the riffs interesting and, as you can guess, quite epic.

Vermeth

Vermeth - Suicide or Be Killed
Drakkar Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Suicide or Be Killed
3. Ave Satanas
4. Necromancer
5. From the Depths...
6. Total Annihilation - Armageddon
7. Malediction
8. The Gates of Chaos
9. Flame of Hate (Torgeist cover)
10. Outro






It's been quite a while since we've heard from Vermeth, but when I saw a new album was out I ordered it right away. I always enjoyed Torgeist, so I was always happy to hear more Black Metal from Beleth Rim. This Vermeth album has quite a different quality to it compared to the prior album and other LLN styled material. It's interesting to note that there is a lengthy essay in the booklet calling out all the bootleggers that have copied the LLN material and capitalized on it. While I tend to agree, but in some cases its the only way some of us could have ever heard the material. For example, Black Murder was never officially released, but "Feasts" is a great album and I'm glad I was able to hear it... ah well.

"Suicide or Be Killed" is rather different from the debut album. It feels a lot more further removed from the original LLN sound and seems to be more of a Bathory/Darkthrone style of a release. Even the song "Malediction" sounds an awful lot like a Bathory song in my opinion. Sure, some of the songs have fast sections, but for the most part a lot of the guitar riffs are actually quite catchy. I, honestly, wasn't expecting that from a Vermeth release. I was expecting more of that sinister tortured riffing I've come to hear more prominently in these projects. I also wonder if this was recorded in the Black Legions studio, because its not mentioned on the CD anywhere. The production is totally different and a lot more thinned out, which gives the songs this razor sharp vicious edge. It actually reminds me of the type of production Katharsis uses.

In the end the Vermeth album works out pretty well. It's more in line with what Torgeist worked on, but with even more Bathory worship thrown in. If you're a fan of this raw and vicious sounding style of Black Metal, Vermeth is probably one of the better projects, so it's certainly worth checking out in that regard.

Vermeth - Your Ruin...
Drakkar Productions, 2001
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro (Your Ruin...)
2. The Black Legions
3. Eternal Dark Being
4. Let Blood Flow
5. Unholy Rapture
6. Black Remembrance
7. Die Bastard
8. Outro








If you followed the LLN from their early days in France then surely you'll know of the project called Torgeist. Well after the LLN disbanded Lord Beleth Rim wasn't really done performing that kind of Black Metal and instead started Vermeth. Unlike Torgeist its mostly just him doing all the music this time. Even though there is no drummer listed on here, I do wonder if there was one involved. Vermeth seems to be the only band really carrying the torch of the Black Legions though, if you look at the booklet you'll see the three inverted crosses symbol. One of the songs is called "The Black Legions" and all the wording is the same as what the LLN produced. This was even recorded at the Black Legions studio!

Vermeth sounds like what you would expect from an LLN project, maybe this is really a continuation of what Torgeist was eventually going to sound like? To me, it sounds like a blend of Vlad Tepes, Mütiilation and Belketre. It has that raw fuzzy riffing common to the other bands, but as with Torgeist the music doesn't seem as messy. In terms of performance Torgeist was always one of the better sounding projects, the other bands eventually got a little better, but Beleth Rim was always a pretty competent musician and Vermeth is no exception here. The recording quality is still extremely raw, almost to the point where it gets in the way of the recording. Even though this was recorded in 2001 it doesn't to have had that much updates with regards to the studio sound, so if you were in love with that LLN sound, it's still pretty well preserved on this recording. It's also a lot better than a lot of the other LLN material, so it's a really great compromise for hearing what kind of music the LLN was actually trying to play.

Vermeth mixes up the LLN sound a lot more than the other projects, where I remember a lot of them being more mid-paced on most recordings, Vermeth tends to speed things up a lot more. They have their mid-paced moments, but there are some far more intense moments, which wasn't that common with the other bands. Vermeth really brings back memories of the old demos and for that I think there is a special place for this project. After this there might not be much of a place for music like this, because Black Metal has changed quite a lot in the late 90's, but if Vermeth can keep at least a small portion of this style alive it will be interesting.

Mémoire de Neige

Mémoire de Neige - Sous le Joug
Angels are Whores of Satan Prostiductions, 2011
Genre: Black Metal

1. Sous le joug de la misère et de las ouffrance
2. Derniers soupirs
3. Aux confins du Néant...
4. Empreintes de guerre
5. Nostalgia











This second release from Mémoire de Neige is actually quite a bit longer with less songs. Here we have all new songs from the project and it seems the only recording they ever made of this music was a live recording in Paris. I'm not sure what happened with the project after this, but it appears to have split up after this, I'm not sure how shortly after, but they never made studio recordings of any of their songs. They released this, once again, as a tape only release with a pro-printed booklet and limited to 123 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #32. This is certainly one of the more random limitation numbers I've come across...

The recording quality is the first thing that will probably put people off to this recording, but you can only expect so much quality from a live recording like this. For what it is, the recording quality actually isn't too bad, you can certainly hear everything, but sometimes hearing crowd conversation or other crowd noise during songs kind of takes you out of the space. There have a been some line-up re-arrangements by the time this recording rolled around. S. Hassvarth, now called Wolfkrieg, is no longer only handling the guitars. Désolation has also moved onto guitar, but has kept the vocal position and a new bassist Affliction has become involved. This has kept the core sound of the first demo present in the new songs, but they've allowed for a bit more interplay between the two guitars. For example, there are a couple guitar solos here and there. Thankfully, it's not many, because they are not all that great and don't seem to fit with the music that well.

I'm sure this music would have sounded a lot better if it wasn't a live recording. There are certainly moments that sound great, so the music is likely on par with the first release. However, the recording quality and crowd kind of mar the level of enjoyment you would really get out of this material. I feel like Désolation upon having this project end and moving onto Caterva Runa took a lot of influence from this project and put it into Caterva Runa. In the end, if I ever decide to delve into this project in the future, I'll probably stick with listening to the first release, because it has a far better listening experience. Again, I wish they had recorded this material in better quality, because a lot of this music is actually very well composed. Ah well... all we have of these projects are the two tapes and I suppose it is better than nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Mémoire de Neige - Aux funérailles de l'hiver
Infernal Kommando Records, 2009
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Quand la neige recouvre le passé...
3. Aux funérailles de l'hiver
4. Terre de souvenirs et de légendes
5. Forêt d'antan
6. Outre Monde
7. Outro









Delving once more into my demo tape collection and looking through a bunch of these French demos I have. This time I have another project related to Svartkrig and Hasserben, but this project produced only two demos and called it quits. Mémoire de Neige sounds quite a bit different from those other projects and from what I hear on this demo it was a rather promising project. This tape has a heavy cardstock type of booklet and a dubbed tape.

Mémoire de Neige is a far more somber project than the other projects that these members were also involved with. There is even a bit more of a melodic touch to the music, which gives the structuring a much deeper feel to it rather than your standard Raw Black Metal that just sounds like Darkthrone worship. Some songs have that sinister dissonant chord structuring that we tend to hear from the French camps, but Mémoire de Neige really does switch up their songwriting quite a bit in its style. They do a good job of writing excellent riffs that range from droning, moody to fairly catchy. They also have a bit of that distinct medieval quality to a lot of their songs that I love hearing in more ancient Black Metal. If they had recorded this with better production I'm sure this would have caught peoples attention a lot more instead of having the project disappear into obscurity.

I think this is an excellent first demo from this project and I wish they had done a lot more with it. Either way, if you're looking for demos that were actually pretty well done, then this is one of them. The production could have certainly been a little better, but the song writing is there and it's well done in that regard at least!

Torgeist

Torgeist - Time of Sabbath
Self-released, 1995
Genre: Black Metal

1. March of Black Assemblies
2. Sweet Death
3. Flame of Hate
4. My Soul for Your Victory
5. Bloody Tears
6. Time of Sabbath










As with a lot of the other LLN material, by the time we got to 1995 things have improved a bit. As before "Time of Sabbath" was originally released as a demo tape, but I missed out on that as well, so I only have the 2008 Drakkar CD edition. The rip from the demo tape isn't as good as the first demo tape, weirdly enough. The original tape probably suffered from being played too much, since this is the better release.

"Time of Sabbath" is not as much of a dramatic improvement as some of the other LLN projects as they put material together in 1995, but it is an improvement over "Devoted to Satan". The demo opens with some Mortiis inspired dungeon synth, which is a major improvement over the spoken word bits. The music feels darker and more intense. Torgeist doesn't play around with weird dissonant pieces, instead favoring a far more straight forward approach. Some parts of this release made me think of early Gorgoroth in their style. "Time of Sabbath" both the album and song feel a lot heavier than other LLN releases as well and again the riffing has parts that remind me of that grinding style Gorgoroth pulls off.

I feel like this project is a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of the LLN projects, it certainly has the best drumming of any of them, so that's a stand out feature of Torgeist. There's also quite a bit of energy in the music on this demo, which is a bit different from the melancholic, almost depressive, feeling of a lot of the other LLN bands. In the end I thought "Time of Sabbath" was an excellent demo and it uses that raw production to it's advantage. So, if you want to check out one of the better projects from the LLN I definitely recommend this one. Some may find it too samey to Black Metal that already exists, but I still think Torgeist did a good job with this demo.

Torgeist - Devoted to Satan
Self-released, 1994
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Follow Him
3. Devoted to Satan
4. Dark Place
5. Evil Prevails
6. Outro










Torgeist is one of the stranger bands in the Les Légions Noires because they don't record at the LLN studio and their Black Metal is a lot more straightforward. It's not the weird and twisted kind of Black Metal found in the other projects. As with the other LLN material, this was originally released to a limited edition demo tape. I missed out on that original release, so I managed to pick up the 2008 CD when Drakkar repressed the material.

Torgeist's debut feels rather similar to something like Darkthrone or Moonblood, but even simpler and more raw than either of those projects. There is also a decent dose of Punk or Thrash Metal styled riffing thrown in. It's not too bad for a first demo, some of the songs are pretty catchy, but I wouldn't say they are particularly memorable in the grand scheme of things. Torgeist just play straight forward raw Black Metal on this release. Even for its time in 1994 it wasn't really anything revolutionary or strange because many bands from elsewhere were already building on this sound. At this point in time, other bands have done this sound better, but it's a pretty solid place to start for a new project. The only outright awful parts of this recording are the spoken word parts over the ambient sections. Those just sound, well... childish. They don't sound evil or foreboding, they just sound kind of dumb compared to the rest of the music.

In the end the first Torgeist is certainly worth hearing, at least once, but I'm not sure if it has a lot of replay value over the years. It may be worth waiting for something more solid to come along, but if you're a fiend for that raw Black Metal edge then I'm sure this will be a must listen for anyone that falls into that description.

Black Murder

Black Murder - Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul
Le Mond Mort Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Promo 1994:
1. My Satanic Hatred
2. Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul
Feasts:
3. Deadsex
4. Fresh Flesh
5. The Last Supper
6. Tower of Tortured Ones
7. Interlude
8. Charnel
Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul:
9. Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul


Giving up on tracking down an actual copy of these demos I've resorted to seeing if the bootleg market had anything, since it doesn't seem Drakkar is going to be releasing the Black Murder material anytime soon. I came across this old CD-R version which compiled all the Black Murder material on a single release. They actually did a pretty good job putting this together. The transfer of the original material came out fairly well.

The major reason I wanted this wasn't for the 1994 demo, but for their 1995 demo called "Feasts". Where the first demo kind of fell flat, "Feasts" is really quite excellent! I don't know what happened between the first demo and this one, but they really got their recording quality under control and the drums are much better this time around. Black Murder have managed to put together some very dark and moody sounding Black Metal with really excellent atmosphere. It has this strange disturbing dissonant quality underlying a lot of the songs. This is one of the reasons I think LLN had a pretty large impact on the French Black Metal scene, because a large portion of the Black Metal bands following in the footsteps of these projects often like to play around with similar layers of dissonant riffing. It has a bizarre twisted feel to it that you can't really find in too many other places. The final song on here is a re-recording of a song originally found on "Promo 1994" and what a huge difference the production makes. In this recording you can actually tell the song was actually pretty decent.

In the end "Feasts" is really the release that makes Black Murder worthwhile and I would really love to see Drakkar re-release the material in full. They're re-releasing so much of the other LLN stuff, that I would love to see this one get out there. It beats having all kinds of stupid poorly ripped bootlegs out there. I'd certainly by an official copy of the Black Murder material. Maybe someday...

Black Murder - Promo 1994
Self-released, 1994
Genre: Black Metal

1. My Satanic Hatred
2. Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul














I've enjoyed raw Black Metal for quite some time and there are few projects out there even remotely as raw as what the groups in the Les Légions Noire were putting out. Black Murder is one of the massive amount of side projects. It was never a main project, but it did release a couple great demos. The first release was only a two song demo. I feel like these guys got together and just wrote music and if it didn't fit with a current project they made up a new one and here we have Black Murder as a result. As you can tell by the cover of my tape, it's not a real copy, I definitely have a bootleg. I do have some real LLN releases, but this isn't one of them.

Like many of the LLN projects it's a rather sloppy foray into somewhat haphazard Black Metal. Some of the riffs and atmosphere are really interesting, but sometimes things are just inaudible and then the drums just get sloppy. In "My Satanic Hatred" I want to assume whoever is playing drums is stopping frequently because they can no longer hear the music. Despite all this noise, they do come up with some pretty solid ideas. The acoustic aspects in "Those Dark Desires that Torment My Soul" worked really well.

Overall the first demo is almost too much of a mess to be truly enjoyable. The drums are extremely sloppy and even the "blast beats" just sound ridiculous. The first Black Murder promo is probably a miss for me, a few good ideas on here can't carry the tape very far.

Ciel Nocturne

Ciel Nocturne - Dernière Salve
Dernier Bastion, 2010
Genre: Black Metal

1. Crépuscule
2. Envers et contre tout
3. Ballade pour l'amie perdue
4. En l'abîme emmuré
5. Interlude
6. Dernière Salve
7. Triste plaisir et douloureuse joye
8. Spleen
9. Ciel Nocturne
10. Cuer qui en tel tristour demeure






This is the second album from Ciel Nocturne and it is, unfortunately, going to be their last effort. The good news here is that they went out on a rather high note with this being a pretty solid release. As with the others this is released on cassette only and limited to 200 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #199.

I can kind of understand why they decided to end the project with this album, the music is trending even more heavily into the Autarcie direction. So, with that realization it probably made sense to just focus on Autarcie at this point. "Dernière Salve" sends us down the LLN road even more than before, but they still manage to keep a bit of that melody in their music these musicians are famous for. But here we have a mixture of melody and that weird strained and dissonant styling heard on many LLN projects. The result is a fairly primitive feeling music, but still presented with a great deal of passion for the music. It has a raw and unbridled feel, especially with the really lo-fi production. Meanwhile, these two musicians have only improved their craft and they sound a lot tighter within their own music than ever before. The interplay between drums and guitar sync up far more often, whereas in prior releases sometimes things would meander off from time to time, but now they're more in line with each other.

On the one hand I would normally be sad to see this project end, just as they were striking out on a sound that was extremely good and far better than before... but on the other hand we have Autarcie. Basically, if you had this demo and enjoyed it, go check out Autarcie now and see where this sound gets developed in even greater detail!

Ciel Nocturne - Season of Solitude
Drakkar Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro - Matin d'hiver
2. Fragments d'un passé qui me ronge
3. Le Goût du néant
4. Déclin Salutaire
5. Season of Solitude Part I
6. Paysage fané
7. La forêt sanctuaire
8. Grise ameritume
9. Brumes et pluies
10. Season of Solitude Part II
11. Outro - Dégel





After a bit of a dodgy demo, Ciel Nocturne put out their first full-length. Sure its often listed as a demo, but it's released by a major Black Metal label and runs about forty-five minutes in length, so it may as well be a full-length as far as I'm concerned. This is a cassette only release and has a pro-printed booklet with dubbed tape. It seems this is limited in some capacity because the #308 appears on my booklet.

I was a little worried when I first sat through the intro song, because the guitars were entirely too fuzzy and way too loud in the mix. Okay, the guitars are way too fuzzy throughout the entire album, but at least the mix balances off a bit more. It's still not that great and feels more like an LLN styled project in many respects. While the riffing is far more purposeful and strikes more melodic in sections, they still delve into that rather disturbing dissonance those projects touched upon in many ways. This is one of those times when slightly cleaning up the production a little bit might take something difficult to listen to and turn it into something very well done. A lot of the riffs on here are actually very well done, but they're getting loss in the mess of the production value. The only outright bad decision song wise, as far as I can tell is the choice to do clean vocals on "Season of Solitude Part I" and other songs where they show up.

For the most part this is a lot better than the split tape and they have matured their song writing quite a bit more. Perhaps working in projects like Hasserben has helped advanced that a bit more. This project is certainly a lot more melancholic than the likes of Hasserben though. Either way, aside from the totally necro-production, the only really bad ideas were the clean vocals, because those aren't that well executed at any rate. So, if you're a fan of the raw Black Metal scene out in France, this is probably worth hearing, just wish the production was a little better, because a lot of this appears to be pretty solid material.

Ciel Nocturne & Devilmind Split
Wolfsturm Propaganda, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

Ciel Nocturne:
1. Totaler Krieg
2. Division Sequania
3. Logik der Ausrottung
4. Hans Siste Vinter (Darkthrone cover)
5. Gloire Ephémère
Devilmind:
6. Au Travers des Montagnes
7. Notre Territoire Menacé
8. Résistance Patriotique
9. Emprise Tyrannique
10. Jour de Gloire
11. Lorsque l'Esprit Revient a Grands a Grands Pas



Side Devilmind: ...coming eventually (but probably not, wasn't too into this)...
Side Ciel Nocturne:

I ended up finding Ciel Nocturne through my interest in the band Autarcie, since both members play in that band as well. Ciel Nocturne pre-dates that band a little bit though and I've enjoyed most of what these musicians do, so I figured I would try out their Ciel Nocturne project. The project debut's on a split tape limited to 200 hand-numbered copies. I own either 101, 104 or 107... it's hard to tell because the hand writing is so terrible. The booklet is printed on harder paper and looks professionally printed instead of a do-it-yourself xerox type of job.

Even though Metal-Archives states that their project called Svartkrig became Autarcie, I think the Ciel Nocturn music is a bit closer to what Autarcie play. Perhaps that's why Ciel Nocturne was eventually put to rest, because there was no point in running two projects that were so similar. Either way, if you're expecting a pristine and polished project, look someplace else. These musicians play harsh and raw Black Metal. To me a lot of their sound is heavily rooted in the style of Darkthrone, which is painfully obvious due to the cover that appears on this album. However, it is even more raw than what Darkthrone has produced on their albums. I do think Ciel Nocturne tend to be a little more melodic compared to Darkthrone, in the way the French play with melody at any rate. Prior to Ciel Nocturne they were also involved with a project called Svartkrig, which was very good, but far more intense. Ciel Nocturne is a much more laid back sounding Black Metal by comparison. This doesn't mean they play slow, we are treated to quite a few fast songs, blast beats and all, throughout the demo, but the compositions don't feel nearly as intense as the Svartkrig material.

So, if you're into Darkthrone inspired material, this may be a project to look at for future releases. Every song isn't great, but they have their moments. It's certainly a fairly solid start to a project and I'm interested to see where they go from here.

Searing Skull

Hasserben & Searing Skull - De Vesontio ad Argentoratum
D.U.K.E./Atavism Records, 2011
Genre: Black Metal

Hasserben:
1. Intro
2. Errance
3. La Marche de l'Hérétique
4. Topreur Mortuaire
5. The Vampiric Tyrant (Satanic Warmaster cover)
Searing Skull:
6. Le Soleil Meurt Chaque Nuit
7. Dead Upon the Cold Earth
8. Those Who Still Hope
9. Agony of the Universe



Side Hasserben: here
Side Searing Skull:

Even though this is the 5th release from Searing skull, I've decided to delve right into reviewing their side of this split. The main reason I'll go right into this one, even though I tend to try and go after full discography reviews is simply because I'm not that into the Searing Skull side of things, so it's unlikely I'll bother tracking down any of the earlier material.

Searing Skull has some decent riffs here and there, but mainly the whole production and songwriting is something I found kind of boring. It didn't really grab my attention at all. All the drums are programmed, and that gets distracting at times. I don't know why some bands get get away with that stuff, like Paysage d'Hiver, but it just doesn't work with this Searing Skull material. The guitar tone also seems to be way too fuzzy. So that didn't start things off well. Moments of the music remind me of Ad Hominem at times, but without the riffs that really hook you in.  It also doesn't have that massive atmosphere of power that Ad Hominem can generate. Other times they try to take a more gloomy and atmospheric approach, touching on a bit of an attempted Ondskapt vibe, but it's only okay. It's tough to say much, because while Searing Skull isn't bad at all, but it's not excellent either. The best riffing is probably in the closing track of "Agony of the Universe", because at times it sounds really mean, which is very good. In the end this didn't really make me want to explore the band more, maybe the earlier material is better? I'm not really going to go out of my way to find it though.

Hasserben

Changed Name to: Caterva Runa

Hasserben & Searing Skull - De Vesontio ad Argentoratum
D.U.K.E./Atavism Records, 2011
Genre: Black Metal

Hasserben:
1. Intro
2. Errance
3. La Marche de l'Hérétique
4. Torpeur Mortuaire
5. The Vampire Tyrant (Satanic Warmaster cover)
Searing Skull:
6. Le Soleil Meurt Chaque Nuit
7. Dead Upon the Cold Earth
8. Those Who Still Hope
9. Agony of the Universe



Side Searing Skull: ...coming eventually...
Side Hasserben:

This is the last recording Hasserben would make under this project name. There have been some drastic line-up re-arrangements for this recording. Nocturn gave up the vocal spot to take over on the drums. While he's a better drummer than Wörg, there are still some rough spots here and there. Still, with him behind the kit the music does feel a lot tighter. To take over vocals they got Spleen and she adds a very interesting touch to their music. She reminds me a lot of Dim from Tymah, which is great, because Dim is one of the better vocalists out there.

Now the real question, could the guitarists bring the riffing? I think on this release they did, it might sit a little between the two demos, but for the most part they succeeded a lot more. It has that excellent raw and melodic French style of Black Metal that I've come to love over the years. They do a good job of keeping their Black Metal on the raw side, but still quite audible so we can hear everything that is going on. This is quite a step up from the two earlier tape releases.

It's almost too bad this is the final release from Hasserben, I feel like they were onto something pretty good with this split. Oh well, they may not leave the most compelling legacy behind them, but there was some good stuff here and there along the way. We'll see how things go with the newly named project Caterva Runa.

Hasserben - A World to Conquer
Angels are Whores of Satan, 2009
Genre: Black Metal

1. A World to Conquer
2. Germs of Hatred
3. Chant d'automne
4. Godless Truth
5. Twilight Falls in Transylvania
6. Torpeur mortuaire
7. Linceul de ronce









After a couple years Hasserben went back into the studio to record their follow-up to their first demo. This is a pro-printed cassette with a dubbed tape. It's limited to 500 hand numbered copies and I own #194.

I was hoping for some more of the great riffing found on "Chant d'Automone", but there isn't as much on this release. By comparison I think the first demo is a little better. While "A World to Conquer" wasn't terrible, I just don't think they hit on that more compelling riffing from the first demo, except when they re-recorded the song "Chant d'automne" and the closing track "Linceul de ronce". Instead this fell more into the category of just another generic Black Metal release. That's not always a bad thing if you write good songs, but there's this layer of generic in Black Metal where it can feel more boring and that's kind of where "A World to Conquer" wound up for me. This was also the last recording with their drummer Wörg, which is probably for the best, the drumming is fairly sloppy at times. I don't know if that's what held back my enjoyment of the riffs, but they don't really cut through like they used to and I find the drumming a distracting aspect of these recordings.

While this wasn't the best follow-up and fell more into the category of painfully generic Black Metal, songs like "Linceul de ronce" give me some hope for the project. Now that a new drummer will be coming in, maybe that will help breath life into the project. Hopefully something better will happen on the next release.

Hasserben - Chants d'Automne
Infernal Kommando Records, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

1. Chant d'automne
2. Im Morgenrauen einer neuen Ordnung
3. Twilight Falls in Transylvania
4. The Dark Omen
5. Toward the Mountains of Sorrow
6. Dead, Buried, Dissolved
7. Germs of Hatred (Live)
8. Godless Truth (Live)








The way I heard about this project is through Caterva Runa. When I saw that this is where the band got its start I was pretty interested in hearing this, so I tracked down their demo tapes and bought them as soon as I could locate them. The fact that they were also in league with bands like Svartkrig and Ciel Nocturne only solidified my interest in the project. So here we are... the first demo. I technically don't have an original copy, instead this is a re-release with two bonus live tracks recorded in 2007. It doesn't say when this particular version was released, so I listed the original release date of the demo. This repress comes with a pro-printed cover and dubbed tape.

As far as first demos go, this came out pretty well. Sure, it's super raw, but they have some pretty decent riffing going on. Sometimes the drums get a little sloppy, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Either way, I can tell this band is off to a good start and I'm definitely interested in hearing where they will go from here. "Chants d'Automne" is pretty par for the course tried and true French styled Black Metal. You have that blend of the cold Scandinavian style with the raw and tortured chords and riffing that is often found in the French sound from anyone that draws off the ideas of projects like the LLN. The live recordings are less than desirable. In fact, their quality is so poor, it's almost strange to include them as a bonus at all...

So, if raw Black Metal is your thing, I think this project would be worth checking out. For me, I look forward to things being a little less raw as the project continues, but as far as demos go, they're off to a fine start as far as I'm concerned.

Throane

Throane -  Derrière-nous, la lumière
Debemur-Morti Productions, 2016
Genre: Black Metal

1. Sortez vos lames, que nous perdions nos poings
2. Aussi féroces que nous repentons
3. Derrière-nous, la lumière
4. Un instant dans une torche
5. Contre terre
6. Nous blâmons la tempête de nous avoir laissés en plaies
7. A cette chute




Throane is a new project to hit the French scene, and strangely I missed out on it when it was first released and I'm only getting to this project nearly a year later. I'm disappointed in myself for missing this, because this album hits a lot of really excellent listening points for me. This is usually a genre of Black Metal where, for me, it has to be done just right and if it's not, I wind up disliking it.

Throane's debut album strikes a very careful balance between Ambient and very dissonant Black Metal. Playing with dissonance is fairly tricky business, especially in a way that makes me want to keep coming back for more, but Throane succeeds in leaps and bounds with this debut. In fact, my one and only complaint is that I wish this album was twice as long. It would really enhance that ambient and hypnotic effect generated by each track. As it is, this album only clocks in at about thirty minutes, which is far too short for a release that can launch its listeners into a trance.

"Derrière-nous, la lumière" pulls pages out of the books of Blut aus Nord's "MoRT" and some Deathspell Omega, while including some elements of Spektr for a more terrifying atmosphere. Mostly this album leans on "MoRT" in my opinion and really advances the ideas on that album to a far more pleasing conclusion. "Derrière-nous, la lumière" production wise is a very dense and suffocating album. Listening to this album you can just feel the weight of the music taking your breath away. The atmosphere is dark, convoluted, yet calming and entrancing at the same time. The vocals are very minimal, when they rear their ugly head, it is but a brief phrase in the greater work, but it really makes the attack of those moments all the more satisfying.

"Derrière-nous, la lumière" is an absolutely astounding debut release and I am glad to see it make the light of day with Debemur-Morti, because the art direction will prove important for this kind of project. While this debut has a really well done digipak release, I look forward to future albums where the art direction can be brought further. The one thing I worry about with a release like this is that it may be difficult to replicate. Where does the artist go from here that can breach new territory, while staying true to the overall foundation created here? Frankly, given the brevity of this release, I wouldn't mind something entirely similar, just so I can listen to them back to back in all it's sonic glory. We shall see though...

Norman Shores

Norman Shores - Norske Herra
Ossuaire Records, 2016
Genre: Black Metal

1. Noirceur Ultime
2. Les Flamboyants
3. Le ver idolâtre
4. La Source
5. Morfond
6. Reidi Ulv
7. Norske Herra









We are very lucky indeed! I was ready to wait for quite a long time for the follow-up to "Le Tombeau de Brume" and already a year later we have a new album in our hands! A new album turn around this fast would usually lead me to believe that this will just be more of the same, but I'm not sure that's the case.

Certainly "Norske Herra" builds on "Le Tombeau de Brume", but everything feels improved. This also feels like a far more fiercer album. It still has some of the majestic mainstays of the prior release, but a lot of that is pushed aside for a more furious style. At times the album seems to remind me more of that majestic ferocity that bands like Forteresse manage to put into their music. The overall arrangements feel stronger as well. There were times during "Le Tombeau de Brume" where pieces felt a bit choppy or transitions felt too abrupt, but "Norske Herra" corrects a lot of these imperfections and really gives us a stellar listen from beginning to end! The title track actually goes full Bathory on us and sits as an interesting closing to the album. I typically don't like the later Bathory efforts and my enjoyment stops at "Blood Fire Death" really. Fog even performs some clean vocal arrangements, but are used sparingly, which is good. I don't like a lot of cleans in my Black Metal, so having this switch over to pure "Blood Fire Death" worship was awesome. Some parts with the chanting cleans remind me of early Hades as well, which was a wonderful memory to bring up as well amidst the old Bathory!

Somehow the recording and production quality are also quite a bit better this time around. I don't know if Fog upgraded his studio during this time frame at all, but everything sounds a lot more full. Even the layout and design of the booklet is much better as well.

This is, absolutely, the best Norman Shores to date. There's a solid chance this will hit my top 10 this year, because it is so well composed. Highly recommended on my end and definitely a must buy.

Norman Shores - Le Tombeau de Brume
Ossuaire Records, 2015
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro - La complainte des Trépassés
2. Songes
3. Arefast à l'oeil mauvais
4. Le gardien des âmes
5. Interlude - Le lac au milles voix
6. Éternelle allégeance
7. Le berger des ombres
8. Messe des Morts
9. Final - Le tombeau de brume







I remember being surprised a new Norman Shores finally arrived on the US coast, because I had thought the project was on hold or defunct because it had been so many years since the debut album. However, with no warning a new album from Norman Shores finally showed up on these shores and I purchased a copy immediately. I was very impressed with the debut album and I was reasonably sure the new album would certainly be on par with the original.

"Le Tombeau de Brume" really sets a new standard for Fog's work, as far as I'm concerned. This really builds upon and then improves upon what we first heard in the first release. The overall complexity behind the compositions is what we first notice as a massive improvement. This mainly serves to produce an even more epic style and is sometimes reminiscent of what Emperor has done in the past with the approach. One of the major things I notice about Norman Shores is it's blend of the Scandinavian style with the epic and melodic French style of Black Metal. The album waxes and wanes through an experience of majestic and somber beauty, while still maintaining the fire and fury of Black Metal.

Aside from the overall composition, the vocal performance stands out from time to time as well. Fog primarily uses a traditional Black Metal voice, but has incorporated some chanting styles at times. The areas where they are placed reminds me, at times, of early Borknagar work. Other times he can strike an Atilla style vocal tone, but this is rarely used on the album. To me, this is a good thing, I much prefer the traditional feel of the vocals. When used sparingly the Atilla style works quite well, but again, it has to be in the right moments, not the whole album.

Overall another fine and enjoyable experience from one of France's finest musicians. This really embodies the old style with everything being "do it yourself". Everything was done by Fog, the layout, the recording, performance, everything, even released on his own record label. I would love to see this project get more recognition out in the scene, because it is very well done.

Norman Shores - Return to the Norman Shores
Antiq Records, 2012
Genre: Black Metal

1. Lost as a Ghost
2. Throne of Nemesis
3. La fin d'un Règne
4. The Grim Idol
5. Return to the Norman Shores
6. Ode to Honor the Brave









I remember going through the list of new arrivals at Paragon Records and I came upon this band. When I looked them up I was surprised to see they were from France, but also elated, because French Black Metal is probably my favorite. Also, my family history goes all the way back to this region, so I decided to give this project a shot immediately. I was surprised to see that the man behind the project is Fog, a musician I'd been following since early 2000 or so when he was involved with the French Angmar and Quintessence at this time, but that's about it. I wasn't aware he played any other instrument until I found Norman Shores. However, this is one of his many projects and the first solo project I encountered by him.

"Return to Norman Shores" heralds in a blend of the more melodic French style of Black Metal blended with solid Scandinavian Viking Metal. The songs are extremely well done and really remind me of the Viking Metal scene in the early days of Norway. Think along the lines of early Enslaved, but a bit faster in its performance. Even though this album is dedicated to the memory of Quorthon, I felt the main aspects drew from the Norwegian aspect of Viking Metal. Except for "Ode to Honor the Brave", which is total Bathory worship. This is directly influenced by "Blood Fire Death" down to the horse samples in the beginning! This song is an excellent homage to that era of Bathory.

I love the production quality on this release as well. It's got a very organic feel to it, which is a breath of fresh air to me, given that around 2012 a lot of Black Metal was feeling a lot more 'digital' in its production values. At least that's how I'd been feeling back in 2012. Either way Fog has managed to engineer an album fairly closely to what I would expect from a mid-90's release. I felt this really complimented the overall compositions wonderfully.

Even though this started as a fairly random buy on my end, I was really happy with it. So, if you like any of the elements I'm referencing above, this would be a great release to check out. It has definitely stood the test of time for me and I still enjoy the album to this day.