Inter Arma – Paradise Gallows (2016) / 89%

The International Armada of Southern Post-Metal

After the impressive one-song extended play The Cavern released two years ago, Inter Arma doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. They’re one of the best american metal bands of their generation and their third full length will only solidify their status as a genre bending and untamable epic beast.

The first noticeable aspects of an album are always the artwork and the title and there’s a clear newfound identity found in the cover art of Paradise Gallows. Compared to Sundown or Sky Burial, it’s full of colours and could almost fit an indie rock band but the scene illustrated is bleak and ultimately fits the sound of Inter Arma. Compared to its artistic rendition, this album is far from being a shipwreck. It’s probably more the large rocky island in the background which is known for leading ships to their demise. Just like the crew of a well-managed ship, the songs on Paradise Gallows are fairly diverse but they learned to work well together to maintain the deck and ride the sea like no one else.

While somewhat sunnier than Sky Burial and overall perhaps softer, it’s still pretty heavy at times. The big Southern melting pot is the basis of their identity. They mix this depressive but warm and dirty sludge sound with healthy doses of black/death metal recalling the elusive Bölzer full of cavernous vocals but they keep things mid-paced or hellishly slow. Songs like the nine minutes “Transfiguration” bring forth the gloomy atmosphere while never losing the focus on tight and riff based metal. I guess we could say that their approach seems all over the place, right?

Maybe... but wait, there’s more! The combination of the massive Neurosis-like riffs with hints of funeral doom/death works quite well. The integration of psychedelic elements also feels natural (listen to the droney but catchy “The Summer Drones”) and there’s a slight nautical aspect to their compositions. It feels like you’re on the Atlantic, near the state of Virginia while listening to the darkest Nick Cave albums but your buddy suddenly plays his Eyehategod mix-tape on his boombox.

“Potomac” (speaking of said nautical feel) is this gorgeous instrumental song full of clean proggy guitar leads and piano and it’s a soft interlude before we’re served two extended heavy numbers.They’re all over the place with their styles of riffing and melodies but they’re surprisingly able to have a clear and solid direction while battling the intense waves made by the aggressive kraken.

Mike Paparo’s presence is outstanding in its richness and diversity. From the harsh yet deep black metal growls to the Mastodon-esque rough delivery of “Violent Constellations”, he’s a gifted metal singer. He’s also great at other styles including the tragically romantic vocals neo-folk of acoustic closer “Where the Earth Meets the Sky” and this sort of entrancing quasi spoken word (check out “Primordial Wounds”).

The guitars of Dalton and Russell range from megalodonian to intricate and psychedelic. This album is long (71 minutes) but it’s always inventive and spectacular. Their weaving of calmness and bludgeoning intensity has reached its peak on Paradise Gallows and the evolution of their sound since their 2010 debut has been an enjoyable process to follow. This is a great album.

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I can't wait to see them Saturday in Montréal.

Existe – Esprit sensible, monde fragile (2016) / 85%

Post-raw existential crisis


This band started by Cyril Tousignant is another vivid example of how good the Québec black metal is and how diversified it is nowadays. Now a quartet, Existe unleashed their debut album in late July and it's a strong hybrid of post, black, punk and depression.

I remember being conflicted about their 2013 EP Et de longs passages douloureux pour une harmonie recherchée. It was an underproduced effort with a lack of direction and compared to this new oeuvre, the post rock/ambient side was more important. Esprit sensible, monde fragile (Sensitive spirit, Fragile World) see the band move towards a more metal direction, now more influenced by Lifelover than the lighter side of Alcest. Nevertheless, Existe still plays a fairly diverse style full of nuances and hooks.

The album starts with a non metal track with acoustic guitars but the screams of Tousignant are downright bone chilling and are certainly a good example of the type of singing we find in depressive black metal. After this somewhat long overture, the record moves in many directions but it's always done in a cohesive way. From the punk approach of the oddly named "/!\" to the aggressive yet atmospheric black metal of "Les fleurs fanées" or "Surpopulation humaine" (and its superb shoegaze ending), it does everything well. It's hard to say what is their stylistic core, it's much more raw than most post-black, much more emotionnal charged than most traditional black metal evolving in the obscurity. The vocals, mixing harsh tones, soft spoken words and some chanting (listen to "Anxieuse"), are all in French and they're singing evocative yet sad lyrics.

Mes yeux sont grand ouvert mais mon cerveau est flou

There's a certain richness in Existe's instrumentation, it's not only focused on the guitars, the bass is thundering, overly present and really damn enjoyable. That's something uncommon for black metal. It's probably the hardcore punk influences giving a larger focus to the rythmn section as it's more often the case in punk. Furtermore, the integration of unorthodox metal instruments such as the clarinet (end of track seven) or pianos (outro) are small but pleasant touches giving the album an expanded identity.

The guitars are well crafted and the adequate production job highlights all the instruments. It's able to be both subtle and complex at the same time (see the instrumentally inclined and beautiful "Frivole"). The post rock from the previous EP is mostly gone but it remains there in spirit inside these tightly knit songs and this short but sweet album.

It's post-black with an uncompromising heavy attitude and no meandering long-winded explorations. The trip is kept brief, to the point and carefully present itself as a midway point between depressive black and post-whatever. It sometimes enters the post-hardcore realms just to borrow some elements, some attitude and come back with a stronger feel. Just like the El-Ahrairah full length (the best black album of 2016), the successful combination of emotions through raw black metal power makes this album an unknown jewel.

Existe on Bandcamp

Free download but a limited run of self-released CDs are gonna be available soon.

Phobocosm - Bringer of Drought (2016) / 80%

Bringer of depressive death metal

Phobocosm has been the best Montréal death metal band for a while and their second full length will simply solidify their reputation as the band (who’s not Gorguts) to beat as far as Québec death metal is concerned. Québec, unfortunately for some, is still a Canadian province and the country creates a ton of interesting tenebrous extreme metal bands right now such as Mithochondrion.

Compared to their super good debut album Deprived, Bringer of Drought expands on the atmospheric side of the band with these longer compositions. The four songs/35 minutes album is an exercise of both restraint and pure unbridled aggression. Their core composed of occult cavernous death metal is still at its place but there’s definitely a large dose of post metal aesthetics (Neurosis is one of the favorite bands of their main composer) and of the atonal dissonance of Ulcerate. Admittedly, I thought the album was a bit too short for the genre represented here but since their music is so demanding and exhausting, it was a good decision. Albums are often too long nowadays anyway.

Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts, etc...) is in charge of the production and while I think he’s often too clinical, he really did a great job for those guys. The vocals are voraciously deep, the guitars flexible with their aerial interpretation of Immolation and those long songs really benefit from this airy yet totally obscure and clean mix. Legit band.

Thanks to Dark Descent Records for the promo copy.

Soon on tour with Mitochondrion and Auroch / Also playing the Maryland Death Fest

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Deafheaven – New Bermuda (2015) / 82%

South of Deafheaven

The San Francisco quintet became some sort of pariah with Sunbather (2013), an immense album clad in pink and done by dudes with short hair who aren't your typical metalheads, big deal, right? This record was praised by indie rock magasines and divided the sometimes unfair metal kingdom. I'll admit I had my reservations at first but the quality of their music convinced me of their relevance, I think they became trendy to hate for the trve black metal crowd who prefer the old (and tired) tactics. With that said, Deafheaven has nothing to prove to anyone, perhaps they didn't win over the crowd they wanted to but with New Bermuda, they proved that they're not a metal band by accident.

I thought the direction they took with this new full length was a bit surprising, I was expecting them to move forward into post rock territories by praising Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor but the boys moved towards an even more metallic direction than Sunbather. It's like Kerry McCoy had to prove that he grew while listening to Metallica (he's always wearing these band shirts on stage to prove that he's one of us!) when he was a kid. Thing is, Deafheaven wrote a wide array of super metal riffs for this new album (listen to the metal parts of “Luna” or “Come Back”.) They really put the “metal” into post black metal with these almost Slayer-esque riffs. A complaint I've heard about their previous album is that while the post rock moments were enjoyable, the metal ones weren't but I think it's somewhat the opposite here (to a lesser degree). Some of the calmer moments feel a bit forced or even cheap (like the piano conclusion of the opening track “Brought to the Water). Still, the mix of pop influences with metal is done tastefully, it's almost as if Savage Garden decided to included Norwegian black metal influences in their music at times and I think it's great! The musicianship is impressive, the dual guitars are mixing intricate atmospheric licks with heavy hitting riffs and the drumming is particularly awesome and can switch perfectly between all the styles required.

While George Clarke (a strong dark guru presence on stage) fits the music, I think he's too buried underneath everything on here and a little variety would had been nice. His lyrics are pretentious, that's a given but they're not bad at all. He's not the most interesting vocalist ever but he doesn't overstay his welcome and he lets the songs flow. The five tracks are all between eight and ten minutes and they're all dense, there's not a lot of filler if you actually appreciate their softer, instrumental bits (the introduction of “Baby Blue” is quite stunning and so is its proggy guitar soloing midway through). Sure, some of the transitions between their styles aren't always top notch but there's barely any bands evolving in such crossover styles that are truly proficient at these, Deafheaven are certainly better than most though.

Even if it's different than Sunbather, I doubt their detractors will find something they like here and I bet they will not even give this album a chance. Deafheaven aren't the best band of their generation and they didn't reinvent black metal on their own (Altar of Plagues, Fen or Ash Borer are all their contemporaries and are a bit better) but they're nowhere bad or the “worst thing to ever happen to metal”.

Entheos - Ototeman (2015) / 84%

Rouyn-Noranda's cold escapism

Québécois black metal is slowly starting to become one of the best scenes in the world. All bias aside, all the bands used to be similar, they were all about the cold winters, traditionalism or patriotism and these subjects while interesting were becoming mundane and unoriginal. Entheos is one of those bands that are succeeding in breaking the boundaries and expanding their genre towards more philosophical and intellectual tendencies.

From one of the metal kingdoms of Québec, the northern industrial city of Rouyn-Noranda (to give you an idea, Entheos opened for Ulcerate when they played there, it's a small city with a big metal fanbase), Entheos are unsurprisingly playing a very cold sort of black metal but they have more in common with the ethereal sound of Sombres Forêts than the likes of Forteresse or Neige Éternelle. That's probably helped by Annatos' involvement, the main man behind the seminal project has produced, recorded the album and he, added some guitar, bass and vocals too. Still, Entheos are not as adventurous as SF, texturally they're not flashy and don't use unorthodox instruments.

Combining many types of black metal like post black (think early Altar of Plagues) and atmospheric black metal. The compositions are intricate but always subtle, there's no grandiloquent nature leanings like in Wolves in the Throne Room and the likes. It's also thoroughly well produced with a clean production showcasing the skills of the musicians (their drummer Jessy Normand is also in the excellent death metal band Pallor Mortis) but they never overdo it. They include some charming acoustic guitar sensibilities like the beginning of my favorite track, the almost 10 minutes “Rêve de grandeur”. While maintaining an atmospheric aura, the band is always conscious about being rifftastic, they're very dynamic and even in the more quiet moments, they come up with interesting guitar licks and moments. It's also important to note that there's many more dissonant moments inspired by Deathspell Omega and the likes, a good example would be the heaviest parts of the final track “Parasite asservi”.

Their lyrics are all in French, it's efficient misanthropic & philosophical poetry, it fits their compositions and it was an enjoyable read. The subjects, themes and art approach combined with their sound are giving Entheos the ability to stand out and we're becoming to see more and more variety with bands like Eos (signed on the great Fallen Empire label) and that's a sign proving the health of the Québec black metal scene.

Here's some parts translated by yours truly: 

“The horizon is wide here
Like the centuries of winter
The men only walk to keep walking
and this earth is filled with our wanderings”

“The windows regurgitate the last soldiers of an infinite army
These dividing walls offering no other issue than these deformed holes in constant ascent”


I'm still ashamed I've missed their Montréal album release gig with the excellent like-minded newcomers Basalte, but I'll be there next time! Entheos are an interesting atmospheric, vibrant and mildly experimental black metal band with an already solid identity.

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Giant Squid - Minoans (2014) / 90%

“We will be forgotten, we will be lost”... 

Well, hopefully they won't be...

Giant Squid were always an odd beast (excuse the expression) in the metal ocean, it took them five years to release a follow up to the excellent The Ichthyologist but now Minoans has hits the waves and so far the response has been widely positive. Their blend of cello induced post/doom/atmospheric/whatever metal is definitely not for everyone but it's definitely for me.

This concept album is about (I hope you got it) the Minoan civilization. I was already hooked on the album before listening to it since history is one of my passions (I'm writing this review instead of finishing some papers, it's currently my last year of studies before becoming a history teacher, woo) and the superb cover art helped the whole thing. The Minoan civilization is an interesting subject for a concept album since it's one of the earliest ones to emerge in Europe and there's still many theories explaining its downfall. The most popular being the eruption of a nearby volcano which could had led to economic repercussions for the naval power located on the island of Crete and a sudden weakness against the continental menace of the Mycenaean civilization.

I feel the historical context is a little bit important to the understanding of the album since the contextual approach is more than lyrical, it's transposed with the rich musicality of this record. You can definitely hear the Greek influences created by both the instrumentation but also the choice of riffs, it's way more Greek than anything Septic Flesh did in the last fifteen years, let me you tell that. The band always had a sort of classical feel due to Jackie Perez Gratz's cello (well known for her contributions for Agalloch, Neurosis and many others) but I feel it's pushed to its apex here, it feels natural and it's simply another instrument being as important as the huge bass presence, the ethereal keys and the subtle but profoundly heavy guitars. Their songs are slow catchy dirges but they never really drag, only the opening title track is over six minutes. It's brooding and has the sense of urgency that can be related to the dramatic end of an era or a culture (listen to the ending of “Six Foot Waves”.) The cello really shines most of the time but the other musicians are all more than solid and they help Giant Squid's identity development. Indeed, the band doesn't sound like any others, they mix genres effortlessly into a very progressive formula that transcends labels.

I always liked ballads, I feel a band can prove its worth by dropping the tough act to compose something truly beautiful (see my favorite band Opeth with “To Bid You Farewell” or “Credence”), that's something they did with “The Pearl and the Parthenon”, sang by both Perez Gratz and Aaron John Gregory (vocals, guitars, artwork), it's harmonious and doesn't feel detached from the rest of the release like it's often the case with this kind of experimentation. The clean vocals they use are neither powerful nor excellent but they possess this sort of entrancing ability and they're very charismatic. Gregory is the lead singer but he's, most of the time, attended by the cellist who do all kind of back vocals. This adds a lot of depth to an already immensely rich and well produced album.

With its 43 minutes length, the album feels short (especially that it ends quite abruptly), its predecessor was 20 minutes longer and I feel the band could really shine by expanding their slow, desperate side. Their music remains weirdly catchy, smooth and heavy and it never reaches cheesy territory even though it would be easy to with a geeky concept like this one (see David Defeis' Virgin Steele.)

Impossible to classify, Minoans is without a doubt one of the best albums of 2014, ride the waves till you reach the shores of Crete or San Francisco, maybe the link between the band and its concept is the Mediterranean climate?

Serve with Feta cheese, olives and lots of wine.

Giant Squid on Facebook

Subrosa/Rhino/Near Grey - August 6th 2014 @Petit Campus, Montréal

I was pretty excited when Boris, SubRosa and The Atlas Moth (a band I really enjoyed in April when they played with The Ocean) were gonna tour together. My enjoyment was destroyed when no Montréal dates were announced but my smile came back when SubRosa decided to go up north to play a gig while on a day off. I'm freaking glad they came.

Two local bands were added to the bill, I really think a three bands gig is the best. The gig won't finish at 2 am and it's easier to truly enjoy the music delivered by every entities.

Near Grey opened the gig with their instrumental post metal compositions. I've never really liked instrumental bands except perhaps Godspeed You! Black Emperor and even though this young band was enjoyable, it didn't quite grasped me. The three songs (for around thirty minutes) they played were redundant, plodding and all similarly built but their heavy parts were pretty fun. When there's no vocals, I feel there's often something missing from the equation. Like a cheeseburger without ketchup. Their guitar tone was very cool though and I can see the fans of the genre digging them, just not my thing, you know?

6 they wish they were Pelican out of 10
Near Grey on Bandcamp

Rhino were next and I knew what to expect since they opened The Ocean's gig and they're also not my thing. I can dig their atmospheric post hardcore approach since I'm a big Cult of Luna fan but they're simply not at their level. They have two guitarists but one of them is utterly unnecessary and tries to do landscapes and endlessly play with his pedals. The other one does all the job and provides good but redundant heavy riffs border-lining on metal.  But...but I just cannot stand their singer and his screamo tendencies, I don't think he's a good fit for their sound.

-10 cult points for drinking Le Trou du Diable beer without glasses like peasants.
6 hipster haircuts out of 10
Rhino on Facebook

SubRosa arrived on stage at around 10 o'clock and they totally met my expectations. It's pretty cool to see a metal band where women are the majority and even though the drummer's beard was manlier than Sean Connery's hairy chest in Dr. No, they're still only two men in the band! The two violinists (Sarah Pendleton and Kim Pack) weren't usually loud enough though but I think this was due to the venue's sound system. Nonetheless,  these electric violins really managed to create vivid soundscapes complimenting the guitar skills of frontwoman Rebecca Vernon who was clad in a black dress.

They played four songs from their excellent latest album More Constant Than the Gods but not “Cosey Mo”, a song I wanted them to play but oh well, it was a solid set anyway. The twelve minutes “The Usher” being a clear highlight. They also played two songs from No Hope for the Mighty Ones.The set was about a hour long and I wish it would have been at least ninety minutes, there's something magical and ethereal to their blend of doom metal, stoner, noise, drone & folk and it's totally entrancing. The soft, intriguing vocals of Vernon were like lullabies mixed with heavy riffs and the rare harsher vocals of Pendleton and the new bassist (who was tastefully loud as fuck). Great, great band.

10 metal needs more women out of 10
SubRosa's setlist:

1. Fat of The Ram
2. The Inheritance
3. Beneath the Crown
4. Ghosts of A Dead Empire
5. The Usher
6. Affliction

SubRosa on Facebook
Thanks to Yannick Marchand for the live pictures.