Natalie is here to tell you all about French black metallers, Reverence. She seems quite smitten with them but it sounds like an abusive relationship to me.
Blut Aus Nord
Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron Review
“When I was first cutting my teeth as a reviewer over at the long defunct Unchain the Underground, I had the distinct honor of reviewing Blut Aus Nord’s 2003 opus The Work which Transforms God. I recall it distinctly being one of the most difficult reviews I ever had to write. The music the band created was new, extreme, pummeling, challenging and ultimately difficult on a level which few records I’d ever heard before were. It offered up an extremity for which I was not prepared. I could tell, though, that it was a revolutionary record. It was something special; incredibly special… extreme, abstract, brilliant, innovative and done in a way that I was not ready for. I really, really hated it.” Nearly one decade later, what the hell will AMG do with Dodecahedron?
Blut Aus Nord – 777: The Desanctification Review
Oh I love French black metal. They do it differently there. You won’t get the same kind of innovation or mystery from any other country in the world these days. Forget all the nonsense that comes with the Norwegian scene. This is purely about the music, the essence of black metal, what it should be. Of course just like any other scene in the world, not everyone is doing the same thing. Here we have the likes of Antaeus, Aosoth or Haemoth providing the raw and ferocious side, while bands like Epheles and Anorexia Nervosa deliver grandiose soundscapes of symphonic majesty. Then of course there’s the avant-garde, enigmatic workings of bands like Deathspell Omega, Glorior Belli and Blut Aus Nord.
Moonreich – Loi Martiale Review
The French metal scene has been growing and more interesting in the past few years than I can ever remember. While the following review will be of Moonreich’s Loi Martiale (Martial Law), it is important to say that in general I’ve been really impressed with the quality of all the metal I’ve been hearing out of France for a while now. Bands like Sebka-Chott, Kalisia and Gorod all stand out as being excellent examples of a metal scene in full bloom right now, full of new thoughts and ideas. Hell, even French black metal is forward thinking and innovative these days if you look at Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord, and black metal hasn’t been innovative as a scene goes since the early 1990s. So you can say that I entered into this one with some high expectations.
