Resonance - Haemoth - Véhémence
- Sparky
- 16 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Haemoth – Black Dust 8.5/10
Shrouded in mystery, the duo of Haemoth and Syht, began in 1999. The French black metallers return from their slumber after almost fifteen years with their latest masterwork, the oppressive and nightmarish Black Dust.
Not so much an album as a haunting, hellish journey through the underworld. “When The Dust Finally Settles” is the perfect example, its frenetic, breakneck black metal, that dips into pure second wave excellence with a thick cloying keyboard effect running through it and the result is music that invokes a tremendous sense of dread throughout. The ambient drone nightmare of “Human Defects” offers no respite, a virulent horror that is only expanded upon by the bands excellent coherent pacing throughout. Haemoth have created a sonic excursion that is inescapable, instrumental “Void Theory” and its soundscapes reflect this whilst Blood Atonement’ And its hellish vocals is pure Armageddon “Ashen remains” is black metal in its purest undiluted form. Haemoth are able to combine the extremes of
industrial and ambient terror with aplomb. Everything is calculated, all a direct consequence and utter commitment to the art.
Black Dust is a sonic nightmare of an experience, with its hellish ambience and tortuous drones combined with the thunderous fury that only black metal can provide. It is an oppressive experience from which there is no escape, the personification of malevolence and darkness.
Véhémence – Assiégé pour l’Eternité 8/10
French epic black metallions Vehemence return with ‘’Assiégé pour l’éternité’’. Which is not a new album per se, but a re-recording of their debut album, Assiégé from 2014.
Why re-record your debut album, especially when it’s only twelve years old and only your fourth overall? Vehemence has always done things differently, and ’Assiégé pour l’éternité’’ is no exception. The compositions are stronger as a result of the band’s experience over the last decade. This is eclectic European black metal that has some of the well know eccentricities of the vibrant French scene and a strong pagan based foundation. Opener ‘De célestes cavalcades” and the nine minute epic “Assiégé pour l’éternité are pure Vehemence that is atmospheric and melodious yet undeniably black metal that is dynamic and ever-moving. The mid pace of ‘Chant d’honneur’ and its anthemic qualities is matched by the beautiful classical guitar coda of ‘Par sombres
forêts et vastes plaines’
’Assiégé pour l’éternité’’. Is a cinematic journey of an album full of rich textures and dynamics. The French lyricism and traditionalistic elements only add to the overall mystique of the album. Vehemence has recreated their debut with a stronger sense of the medieval and musical accomplishment, a must for fans of epic black metal.