Metalcatto
It’s been a while without Black Metal from the basement. So here we have Taufpatin with an album named Les Malfaisances de la Taufpatin. Ridiculously long title, I know. This should be good, right? It has, in principle, what I’m looking for. However, even I can get a bit fed up with French Metal, but let’s see.
Well, this is probably the closest I’ve seen a band come to Blut Aus Nord, specifically the one from Memoria Vetusta. It has the rough production, the psychedelic feel, and the mesmerizing riffing, but at times, the tracks are more Doom, and definitely the writing becomes more traditional as the record reaches its end. It wasn’t at all what I expected.
The atmosphere is probably the strongest part here. It’s dark but also ethereal. Most importantly, it achieves this without bashing you with the same riff over and over. The vocalist is really having fun by shrieking as much as possible. As in any French album, you have passages of the man talking about semi-deep stuff dramatically. That couldn’t be missing here.
So what didn’t I like? It’s not even the moments that are so similar to Blut Aus Nord—I can look past that. It’s the strange stylistic decisions that make it rather inconsistent. You get prepared for a psychedelic track at times, and instead get something far more old school Black Metal. Hence, we end up with something uneven that shines as a whole, but when you get into the details, you become a bit critical. Overall, the effort was interesting.
I think this is better than the average atmospheric album we get. So I’m willing to look past some of its issues. If you miss 90s French Black Metal that doesn’t sound like a potato getting crushed, then Taufpatin should be on your radar. It has the right amount of mystery for you, without sacrificing much musicianship.
Label: Antiq
Release date: October 9th, 2026
Website: https://antiqofficial.bandcamp.com/album/les-malfaisances-de-la-taufpatin
Country: France
Score: 3.0/5.0
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