A double split 7” release Legendes from Sepulchral Productions is shared between four of the finest exponents of Quebecois black metal, each taking inspiration from a different creature or tale from the Francophone province’s mythical heritage.
Things kick off with a furiously-paced epic, named after the Wendigo, a ravenous, cannibalistic spirit of Algonquin mythology. Forteresse employ their signature sound of rattling drums and raging tremolo-picking that just manage to keep a hectic, blurred rhythm together but threaten to explode into madness, while keyboards sail over the top to provide a grandiose counterpart to the frantic, galloping chaos kept up for all of the first six-and-a-half minute. There’s room to take a breath just once, halfway through, before the tornado rips things up again with even greater force. There’s some nice touches, like the submerged zombie-horde vocals in the latter half of the track, and some creative drum splashes to animate the already breakneck rhythm, then even further amplified by the last part of the keyboard riff, which, already high, launches off up the scale to heighten the energetic drama.
The opening of Chasse-Galerie’s side, ‘Le Bois des Belles’, has a more brooding introduction by comparison, though is soon thundering along in a similar fashion, although approached more through harmonic and structural complexity than all-out fury. Marauding basslines run all over the lower territories, out in front of the haughty guitar line like roving dogs before mounted huntsmen, proving an equal match for Forteresse’s aggressive creature despite the slightly slower pace. In the final section of the song, the guitar leads break out into a twin attack tinged with a hint of folk melodies, before being rejoined by the wandering, bass and rasping but still anthemic vocals.
Next up is Monarque, who take things even further northwards into bleak landscapes with a biting wash of hissing guitar that howls across the front of the track like an icy wind, soon to be joined by vocal shrieks and growls which build up into an uncompromisingly harsh assault. Named ‘La Griffe du Diable’, the Devil’s Claw, the pummeling backbeat rhythm falters halfway through, stumbling in the snow as if having awoken something even more horrifying than expected, before again finding its feet and joining forces with the demon to wreak combined havoc.
Finally, (thankfully), Csjethe provide a step down in pace from what has gone before, at least at first. ‘Murmures Nocturnes’ sets a scene imperiously, with a wash of fuzzed chords which are then sparked to life with a single cymbal ting signalling the return of the thunder. There are a couple of sections where the force is ratcheted up by a see-sawing two note riff used in different ways, before the second half of the track brings in a final atmospheric riff to match the violent grandeur of the previous songs, and to close out the uninterrupted high quality of the release.
It’s a shame that details aren’t provided about the “legends” that form the basis of each track (perhaps they are in the physical release), since the only one easily figured out from the title is the flesh-eating Wendigo. That said, even without the backstory, a strong kindred spirit runs through the whole release, testament to the seemingly close-knit nature of black metal in and around Montreal, Trois-Rivières et al. Where some 7” releases split between just two bands can seem disjointed, here the two records are nicely arranged, with the first two sides providing a faster, vicious stab while the third and fourth give the listener a slightly more expansive, droney pounding. The four bands are united by theme and commitment to relentlessly overpowering black metal, making this an invigorating collection of some of Quebec’s finest. Highly recommended.
