Spektr

Vous Autres – Champ du Sang Review

Vous Autres – Champ du Sang Review

“‘Dark’ is my thing. Dark dreams, dark thoughts, and dark music make me who I am. For most that know me, this comes as no surprise. For those that think you know me: surprise! But, as of late, my dark place has become a living hell. I could always escape there when things got tough and it was a place I could go to avoid judgment from this pathetic, untrusting world. But, four months ago, things turned real dark. Too dark. And the little room in my head wasn’t dark enough to handle it.” Dark music for dark minds.

Svartidauði – Revelations of the Red Sword Review

Svartidauði – Revelations of the Red Sword Review

“Although not the first country that leaps to mind, Iceland is tailor made for a black metal scene. With thirty active volcanoes, a sun that can still shine in the middle of the night, and a winter that lasts almost precisely as long as summer, bands have plenty of inspiration in which to toil and leave their legacy on the sound. The arguable leader of these is Svartidauði, whose debut full length Flesh Cathedral received heaping praise and exposed the Icelandic scene to the world at large.” Of ice, volcanoes, and red swords.

Ophe – Litteras Ad Tristia Maestrum Solitude Review

Ophe – Litteras Ad Tristia Maestrum Solitude Review

“It’s a big deal when a band lists major influences, like Ævangelist, Dodecahedron, and Blut Aus Nord, in their biography. Sometimes it’s an innocent list, meant to feed the reader with keywords. Other times, it’s misleading. In Ophe’s case, the list ain’t that far off, as the band takes their forefather’s black/avant-garde style and French’s the fuck out of it. It’s Dodecahedron’s low-end, mixed with the dark, distant blackness of Ævangelist and layers of Område and Spektr. When you look deeper into Ophe, this isn’t a surprise. Considering that this one-man band consists of Område’s own Bargnatt XIX. But this ain’t no Område.” One, man, one basement.

Debackliner – Debackliner Review

Debackliner – Debackliner Review

Debackliner is the second French group in a week for me. The first was the excellent Ars Moriendi—a one-man, black metal act focused on the Frenchy weirdness of bands like Spektr and Blut aus Nord. But, Debackliner is something else. It’s not a one-man band, it’s not black metal, and it’s not anything you were expecting.” Is there a French connection?

Ars Moriendi – Sepelitur Alleluia Review

Ars Moriendi – Sepelitur Alleluia Review

“The only thing I knew going into Ars Moriendi was that this black metal outfit is from France. which means they’re probably weird as shit. But, being the fan I am of Spektr, Reverence, and Blut aus Nord, I wasn’t too worried. So, not expecting anything novel, I put in my buds and fired up Sepelitur Alleluia. And, oh lordy, I was taken by surprise. It turns out there is more to Ars Moriendi than meets the eye (or ear).” French black metal is weird, and their wine is okay too.

Spektr – The Art to Disappear Review

Spektr – The Art to Disappear Review

“I first came across the nightmarish raptures of Spektr in 2006 with Near Death Experience. That album was perhaps the most unsettling record in my music collection at the time, and served to worsen my already-horrific insomnia. Since then I’ve been captivated by every one of Spektr’s disturbing soundtracks.” To sleep, perchance to scream?

Total Negation – Zur späten Stunde | Zeiträume Review

Total Negation – Zur späten Stunde | Zeiträume Review

“With a project name like Total Negation, it’s very difficult to be mistaken when it comes to what you’re in for. More or less taking the feeling of being pessimistic and forming it into a sound would be a start, as far as descriptors go. Total Negation is a German black metal project that takes every feeling of despair and discontent and forms it into a distant, almost apathetic sound. What Total Negation do is very differently from other similar bands taking black metal in a more depressive route – think Xasthur or perhaps even Spektr for example.” Join Noctus as he dives into the evil white cube that is Total Negation.

Spektr – Cypher Review

Spektr – Cypher Review

“Mechanical dissonance, black metal, experimental tones – all things alluring, no? To a select few individuals with a taste for the twisted, anyway. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the French seem to have an affinity for black metal with a twisted, experimental tinge. With bands like Deathspell Omega and the highly influential Blut aus Nord pioneering the dissonant, mangled tones, it’s no surprise that black metal outfit Spektr also hail from the same shores. They do have one rather unique aspect to the sound that sets them quite apart from such peers; that being the total absence of vocals, which is rather unusual for both black metal and metal as a whole.” Noctus is our resident expert on bleak, experimental black metal, so we called him in to discuss this grim, instrumental black metal opus. Did I mention its an instrumental black metal album?