Forteresse

Serment – Chante, Ô Flamme de la Liberté Review

Serment – Chante, Ô Flamme de la Liberté Review

“Some black metal bands are sheer aggression and violence, while others are all about slow-build atmosphere and ambience. Lurking around the fringes, just outside these respective circles of firelight, are the folk black metal bands, crooked harps and battered lutes clutched in their claws. By far the most interesting – to me at least – are the black metal acts that dip their bucket in multiple wells, and we have one such specimen on our hands today. Quebec’s Serment is the one-man side project from Forteresse’s guitarist and bassist, Moribond.” Folk in the eye.

Délétère – De Horae Leprae Review

Délétère – De Horae Leprae Review

“‘Délétère’. A word which translates from French into English as ‘deleterious’. Aside from sounding distinctly metal, it apparently means ‘harmful’ or ‘damaging’. Bear this in mind. Addressing the band that is the subject of today’s review, Délétère partake in the affecting métal noir Québécoise scene.” Québéc-core.

Forteresse – Thèmes pour la Rébellion Review

Forteresse – Thèmes pour la Rébellion Review

“I’m largely done with black metal as it was in Norway in 1993. That raw, lo-fi, stripped-back approach to black metal had its place and developed metal in so many ways but it’s definitely had its time. Bands such as Ulver, Emperor and Enslaved were already beginning to move the sound into unprecedented regions in the mid-late 90s. Now in 2016 it’s rare that I listen to that sort of no frills attached, no genre cross-over, nothing added to that furious, godless formula.” But there are always exceptions.

Forteresse/Chasse-Galerie/Monarque/Csejthe – Légendes Review

Forteresse/Chasse-Galerie/Monarque/Csejthe – Légendes Review

“The French-Canadian province of Quebec has a rich black metal scene, and Canadian black metal label Sepulchral Productions has strung together a real gem in the form of Légendes, a four-way split EP of proud Québécois darkness. In keeping with each group’s dedication to Québécois cultural and national identity, the split unites some of the scene’s more well-known groups – Forteresse, Chasse-Galerie, Monarque and Csejthe – to explore Quebec’s folklore.” Ready for a rare four-way split of French-Canadian blackness? Wendigos unite!