When I open my magic mailbox, I start salivating because this promo had everything a snob wanted. French? Check! Post/Black Metal? Check! Band members with no names but initials instead? Check! But most importantly, has the band been embroiled in drama as intense as the album? Probably. So here we are, ready to dive into Zéro Absolu and its album La Saignée. It’s basically a French supergroup, so of course, our expectations can’t be realistic.
La Saignée only has two tracks of considerable length. I know what you’re thinking: “I’m going to fall asleep, nooooo!!” But actually, this thing is almost an EP, since it barely goes over the 33-minute mark. Hence, it’s long and short at the same time. And the same can be said about the music. There’s grandeur and majestic moments that reminded me of the best of Alcest or Wolves in the Throne Room. It has that cathartic waterfall feeling, just like all those old mid-2000s Blackgaze albums.
Yet don’t confuse its patience with a lack of aggression. The album has all the blasting and despair you want from the harsher side of this subgenre. So rest easy, you people obsessed with beatdowns—you’ll get enough of that. I think the most impressive element here is how the first track is so freaking long and engaging. I rarely found myself getting distracted. It was everything the subgenre should offer. If anything, I was ready for another 20 minutes of painful and relaxing shrieking. However, the album takes a different direction, and it’s the one I’m still reflecting on.
Fine, that’s kind of creative!
There are several spoken narrations across the album, especially in the second track. And though its lyrical content adds depth to the overall work, I’m just not the biggest fan of so much talking! Ironically, the pace in the last track was more challenging for me than the mammoth size of the first one. Maybe it’s because it primed me so hard, but I was left wanting more flood-like melancholy. I just needed more pain! Metal is for masochists, after all. However, I can’t deny the immense talent behind La Saignée.
I was pleasantly surprised by Zéro Absolu. Again, AOP Records keeps dropping bombs, and it’s not even February yet. Even with its flaws, this album shows that France is still a Black Metal powerhouse. They might get a lot of hate everywhere else, but when it comes to extreme Metal, there’s only love and respect from MER Industries. I can’t wait to listen to what this band does next, and I hope it takes its music in even wackier directions. I’m always up for more snobbish stuff!
Label: AOP Records
Release date: January 31, 2025
Website: https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/la-saign-e
Country: France
Score: 3.5/5.0, I know it’s getting repetitive!
Metal Eclipse Reviews 