Metalcatto
Whether you like it or not, we live in an interconnected world, where people end up being or living in places they didn’t plan to be in the first place. Enterré Vivant is a French project. However, its creator has been living in Japan for 25 years, so it wouldn’t be wrong to call him at least part Japanese—which is why Akuzaï got my attention. How would French/Japanese Black Metal sound? Is it going to be a cheap gimmick, or is it going to take the best of both worlds? Let’s see.
Above all else, Akuzaï is an unpolished Black Metal album that aims to puzzle and disturb you more than anything else. It takes a lot of musical themes from Japanese folklore, but it’s done with subtlety. There’s a great sense of tragedy and loss woven into its ideas. It feels as if you’ve been sent to more depressing times—probably a post-war Japan—where devastation was the norm and people could barely keep on living after everything they’d experienced. I listened to Akuzaï and wondered if this is what starvation should sound like. And yet, it wouldn’t be a French Black Metal album without someone speaking French in the middle of it.
There’s a lot of furious tremolo picking and drum-bashing like you’d expect from any release in this subgenre, but it’s the more atmospheric and electronic elements that make the album stand out from the masses of faceless one-man extreme Metal projects out there. It’s not an easy listen though—there’s no intention to make this an enjoyable experience. It’s evidently out there to punish you for your sins, which brings me to the things that punished me in ways I didn’t want.
I’ll be honest—the production here is challenging, especially the drums, which end up moshing in a wall of white noise. There’s also that constant static noise in the background that drives me crazy, but some people seem to like it (otherwise, why is it still a thing?). Then you have tracks like “Warugushi” that, despite how perverse they are in nature, made me wonder why not just play an actual song in this part. I get the Blut Aus Nord vibe, but even that band has a hit-or-miss relationship with this type of experimentation.
Overall, Enterré Vivant has come up with something interesting that will definitely catch the attention of those who want their Atmospheric Black Metal with a little more Folk Metal influence. It’s a strange combination, but that’s the point in the end. The execution might not sit well with me, but I can get into the concept and the feelings behind it. As someone from everywhere and nowhere, it’s always nice to be represented—somehow.
Label: Antiq
Release date: 26 May, 2025
Website: www.facebook.com/enterrevivantblackmetal
Country: France/Japan
Score: A devastating 3.0/5.0
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