Metalcatto
Here we go again. More French Black Metal that sounds like it was recorded in a fridge by people who should have gone to therapy instead. That’s the cliché, at least. But Véhémence is doing something strange with Assiégé pour l’éternité. It’s a remake of its own first album, with new production, new tracks, and new lyrics. It’s almost as if they said, “This is the way we wanted to debut, but back then we didn’t have the budget.” So how good can this be? I’m completely primed by previous Antiq releases, so you could say I’m pretty neutral about it.
Oh wow. This thing really caught me with my underwear down. Assiégé doesn’t play around. I know this Medieval Metal tends to take a while to warm up, but not Véhémence. The band delivers action from the first minutes and stays focused for the whole time. The tracks are long and go through many ups and downs, but they don’t get lost in irrelevant sections. This might also be a Folk album, but there’s a lot of modern Melodic Black Metal here. In fact, there were moments where I felt I was listening more to Edge of Sanity than to Summoning. Those are crazy comparisons, but what can I say?
The vocalist has great enunciation too. You could almost understand most of what is said—si vous parlez français, bien sûr. But even if you don’t speak French, why do you care? You’re not here for the lyrics anyway. The album slowly makes a transition into more old Satyricon territory as we reach the end. So the gimmick isn’t abused. It’s not corny for once. As you can tell, I freaking loved this album, but there are a few things to complain about.
I do feel the first half is stronger than the second. Even if the variation and creativity are more pronounced later on Assiégé, the hooks are just too strong at the beginning. Perhaps trimming down the length of some of these tracks could have helped the pace, or maybe some parts repeat a bit too much. But honestly, everything here is fun, so you probably won’t mind another round. When the music is this engaging, repetition feels like reinforcement rather than redundancy.
Medieval Black Metal has always put atmosphere over writing and musicianship. I’m happy to say that Véhémence hasn’t done that here. Quite the opposite. The band has come up with an album full of intense moments and solid songwriting. So finally, a geeky album that could serve as the soundtrack to a D&D reunion without making me feel embarrassed. The opposite, in fact. Why aren’t more people discovering Véhémence? We need to fix this.
Label: Antiq
Release date: 10th June, 2026
Website: vehemencebm.bandcamp.com
Country: France
Score: 4.0/5.0
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