France – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments

Metalcatto

There are days when I wake up and actually don’t feel like putting myself through the most disgusting, inhumane, or nihilist music you people drop on our mailbox. Sometimes I want to feel life has a purpose—even if it doesn’t. So how about a Speed Metal band like Iron Slaught? Metallic Torment should be everything I find cheesy, but this is a French band, and you know Metal is the only thing where we don’t hate on them. In fact, we love their work. So let’s see if we can keep that going—the love, I mean, not the hate.

Aetere – Théogonie

Pegah

Théogonie is the debut album by the French Doom Metal duo Aetere. Its title refers to Theogony, the epic poem attributed to Hesiod, recounting the origins of the Greek gods. Rooted in a Greek term meaning “the birth of the gods,” it serves as one of the foundational texts of Greek cosmology.

Véhémence – Assiégé pour l’éternité

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.

Verdun- Abyssal Womb

Metalcatto

A band with a name referencing a place where millions of lives were pointlessly lost? It can’t be a relaxing one, right? Well, Verdun is exactly that: Sludge and Death Metal that creeps into you like some chronic pain you can’t shake. Even the album’s title, Abyssal Womb, prepares you for something that has to be nothing but dreadful. Because the label is Transcending Obscurity, I was expecting something incredibly technical or brutally fast, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Or well, it depends on how you see it. Let’s go.

Malebeste – Monestherou

Metalcatto

After yesterday’s dive into the most sellout of sellouts, we had to return to the most kvlt Metal out there: French Black Metal. Malebeste isn’t as weird or abstract as a lot of Black Metal from the baguette land. However, Monestherou is still a listen for the experts. It’s not going to make it easy for you noobs, but don’t worry—that’s what I’m here for. Someone has to hold the flashlight while you navigate this sewer.

Angellore – Nocturnes

Metalcatto

I see the album has five tracks and almost nothing below the five-minute mark. I started sweating, because when a band is this into length, there are only two ways to go: a blast or a bust. Angellore‘s Nocturnes has no easy task to fulfill. It’s going to be hard to make the time count, but that’s why you’re here—to see if you can find that hidden gem, right?

Tarask – Sitra Ahra

Metalcatto

Here we go again, our favorite guilty pleasure at MER: French Black Metal. You know how it has to be. One-member band, checked. Antiq as label, checked. Harsh production, checked. Lyrics about conformity and consumerism—but please buy the merch—checked. It’s all here, and we’re ready to dive into Tarask‘s Sitra Ahra with high hopes and dreams.

The Losts – Venom Within

Metalcatto

We still have some fresh reviews out of the oven for you before the holidays doom us all. I’ve loved all sorts of weird French Metal, you know that. However, we don’t get Darkwave Heavy Metal every day. In fact, my real fear is that The Losts’ Venom Within ends up being some kind of cheesy ride just like many other albums in the subgenre, but the season says I should be hopeful. So, I’ll do my best to not be a total snob today.

Morte France – Hesperia

Metalcatto

Another Black Metal band from France, aaaaah!!! I’m excited. You know nothing mixes like those two when it comes to giving you an interesting experience. However, Morte France wants to do something different with Hesperia: it wants to reconcile Paganism and Christianity, which is like making pasta and chocolate sauce fit well together (food analogies are safe, they don’t offend anyone!). So, this album set some solid expectations for me, which is why I was afraid of ending up with endless disappointment — but let’s get to it.

Blut Aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons

Metalcatto

Not many bands can embody the meaning of the term eras like Blut Aus Nord. We have the Vetusta saga, the 777 saga, Disharmonium. A band that basically invented a niche with The Work Which Transforms God (a 5/5 in my list). I’m a huge fan if you haven’t noticed. So comparing Ethereal Horizons with the rest of the band’s work was way more challenging than I expected. All of its albums are different, and yet they share the same identity. So, where to put this one? Let’s see!