Darkall Slaves - "Abysses Of Seclusion" CDS

Potent technical death metal from France

A short, limited-edition 3-song single from this new French blastbeat/death metal act, this all begins with the atmospheric "Intro". The frenzied "Mindless Damnation" follows, and is a raging assault of distortion, ferocious riffs, insane rhythms, and gutteral vocals. The title track brings a similar sound, with some unusually odd and complex structures (reminiscent a bit of Meshuggah) and another breakneck pace.

It's all produced very well, with clean highs and lows, and this is some really well-done technical death metal with a precise, almost mechanical assault that reminds a bit of Fear Factory, which works well. Highly enjoyable, but at only 10 minutes, all too short.

Kaotoxin

Darkallspace

Darkbook

Year Of No Light - "Ausserwelt" CD

From France comes this formidable and majestic post-metal juggernaut which calls to mind the potent tribal nihilism of bands like Isis or Neurosis (sans caveman grunting, thankfully), all the while maintaining a crystalline drone/shoegaze guitar backdrop that could please fans of Mono or Explosions In The Sky. "Ausserwelt" opens with 20 minutes of "Persephone" (in 2 parts), and these crushing instrumentals aptly exhibit the massive, earth-crushing momentum of what must be one of France's most potent bands.

This album only contains 4 tracks, but make no mistake -- it's 48 minutes of carefully-crafted, intense psychedelic-metal that's so stunningly tectonic that YONL must aim to summon primordial beasts from beyond with every reverberating drum laceration and swirling guitar whirlpool. When it all winds down, on the 13-minute "Abbesse", a fleet of ambient sounds gently lulls the beast back to the abyss. An amazing, powerful, and standout release here. I am duly impressed. (Conspiracy Records)

Year Of No Light site

Year Of No Lightspace

Aosoth - "Ashes Of Angels" CD

French satanic/black metallists Aosoth's second full-lengther is a bold and even atmospheric triumph for the genre, combining an unusually progressive sense of atmosphere to accent the unholy attacks within. The title track is a sturdy and unforgiving storm of epic wall-of-sound guitars that seem to carry the track's more stereotypical blastbeats and hellish vocal torrents. It's a blistering assault, and the wonderfully chaotic, churning guitars even remind me a bit of Killing Joke, which is an endorsement from me. "Path Of Twisted Light" combines the ferocity and sorrow endemic of most (good) black metal with varied tempos and funereal breakdowns. I like that the group balances their dissonant and violent tendencies with a deep sense of melancholy and mood. Perhaps the album peters out more towards the end, but the ominous closer, "Inner War", makes up for it. This one begins as a tormented ambient nightmare that brims with malevolent spirits before exploding into a morass of tight death metal riffs and screams. "Ashes Of Angels" is an unusually good release by a group that dares to stretch the black metal boundaries yet remains reasonably faithful to its original spirit. (Agonia Records)

Aosothspace

Aldaaron - "Nous reviendrons Immortels" CD

With a shrieking madman in vocalist Ioldar (think Alan Dubin's strained wails from his days in grindcore progenitors O.L.D.), this French group's propulsive debut combines inspirations from black metal (the most evident) to heavy grind and classic metal, sometimes within individual tracks. "En route vers la bataille" ("On The Way Towards The Battle"), for example, brings almost 8 minutes of fluctuating tempos and styles, from an acoustic, medieval, even pagan vibe to heavy, blurry, and frenetic black metal with Cookie-Monster vocals. "Nirnaeth Arnoediad partie 1 & 2" bring forth interludes of mournful gothic strings to further evoke a mood of isolation and despair. "Royaume" has a cool mid-tempo thrash chug-a-lug that proves successful, as well. It's a good mix, full of clear instrumentation and wide high and low frequencies. Aldaaron have a diverse sound that opens them up to more than most of their peers, and I can see them diverging even more from their well-trodden path on future releases. As is, "Nous reviendrons Immortels" is a strong effort from a band who are well on their way to making a name for themselves. (Paragon Records)

Aldaaron site

Aldaaronspace

Overmars - "Born Again" CD

Taking the half-speed churn and seething, pummeling noise-grind of classic SWANS, and throwing it down the steps alongside modern post-rock metal ala Neurosis or Isis, these Frenchmen (and woman) find themselves in a gloriously brutal din of pained discontent with "Born Again", their second true full-length. This album is one single-indexed 40-minute track, and it begins with a huge, plodding, thunderous landscape of slow-burn guitar/drum grind, with dual male/female vocals that channel the spirits of souls having their skin burnt off. It's a truly nightmarish sound, horrific and chilling. After several minutes, it falls away to reveal a more atmospheric freefall, with almost psychedelic reverberations and Marion's shrieked vox. "Born Again" is a hellishly potent collision of sounds, and will easily appeal to a varied audience, from death/grind/black metal fans to more avante-leaning industrial-noise heads, theirs is a sound born of pestilence, pain, and (perhaps) redemption. It's a travelogue of an existence without light, where torture is a tide that ebbs and pulses. Momentous and earth-moving music here. I am stunned. (Crucial Blast)

Overmars webpage