Baguette doom series part II : Le Vent de Paris
One of the earliest
doom metal bands from France, Northwinds is one of the hidden jewels
waiting to be discovered by the metal universe. Known by the
aficionados of the genre, they deserve more recognition from a wider
audience and I think it's only a matter of time since they play (and
always have) something quite trendy these days. They indeed play some
kind of doom intertwined with 70s dark hard rock, some psychedelia
and even folk music.
Formed in the late
1980s, the band remained a demo band for more than 10 years until the
release of their excellent debut “Great God Pan” and their
sophomore “Masters of Magic” was released in 2001. It's perhaps
my favorite of their discography and that's why I decided to review
it. Compared to their 3 other albums (they're not a very productive
band unfortunately), it doesn't have cover songs in it. While I
appreciate the nod to the influences here and there, having 2 on the
same album like on their latest “Winter” is hardly justified.
It's okay when it's a bonus track but eh, I want to hear some
original music, not a Saint Vitus cover even though half of “Clear
Windowpane” was in French. But that's on another album and I'm
complaining for nothing, this album is original goodness from the
first second to the last!
One
noticeable thing is the fact both the introduction and the conclusion
to the album were composed and played by Steve Sylvester, the
front man of Italian cult band Death SS. They're short atmospheric
ethereal numbers full of organs and mesmerizing whispered vocals. It
was quality bread for an awesome and consistent sandwich. It can take
a while to eat though, it's slow and magical (hehehe, yeah...). The
songs are all pretty lengthy but the epic track “Entre chien et
loup” is the peak with its 15 minutes. I really really like when
the band sings in French, it's very special and I think the whole
album should had been in Molière's beautiful language. There's also
the romantic track about the Arthurian legends “Broceliande”, the
name of the mythical forest in the stories of Merlin and company.
The band has
Sabbathy doom parts with thick bass licks and rich heavy riffs
recalling the pristine early releases of the Englishmen but they're
far from being a conservative doom band like many others, not that I
think there's anything wrong in keeping it traditional something made
obvious by many of my reviews. Northwinds is indeed including a large
amount of classic progressive rock and folk rock influences. In the
utmost old school tradition too, nothing of this neo prog style with
30 minutes rude keytar solos. There's the aerial feel of Pink Floyd
and the medieval romanticism of Jethro Tull thrown for good measure.
Not the heaviest representative of the French doom scene but
certainly one of the more interesting.
If slow proggy doom
numbers is your thing, Northwinds' sophomore will be a treat for you,
if you prefer your doom hard rockin' and with a beer smell, check out
Children of Doom (to be reviewed!), there's everything you need in
the French Doom scene, mon frère!
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