FORTERESSE: "Crépuscule d'Octobre"

Although I can't say I'm fully acquainted with the band's back catalogue yet due to the painful fact that time is limited and there is always so much other stuff to explore in the realms of underground black metal, I do consider Forteresse as one of the most intriguing black metal groups hailing from Canada. Pagan Hellfire might be my favourite churner of the uncompromising Canadian black arts, but Forteresse is perhaps a serious contender for that title as their sound has interestingly ranged from a harsher approach (Métal Noir Québécois) to an entirely atmospheric affair on last year's Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines which was like an utter ambient record, only played with black metal instrumentation.

So into which category should their newest offering, Crépuscule d'Octobre, be pigeonholed? Admittedly, I've only heard bits and pieces of their pre-Par Hauts material, but I'd still definitely say that this upcoming effort is a tad more traditional black metal compared to the minimalist last year's album. Don't get me wrong, Forteresse still revels in a lush atmosphere of echoing, vast sounds, and a song like ”Mon Esprit Rôde Toujours” could almost fit into Par Hauts' soundscape, but the truth is that overall the album incorporates a lot more blast beats and general aggressiveness in relation to its predecessor. And though the sound is hence slightly different, I still find my mind wandering into barren landscapes, forgetting my surroundings and just sinking into the sound, just like with Par Hauts. Mission accomplished, Forteresse's atmosphere here is top notch.

I'm not sure exactly how much longevity these reverby, simple tremolo picked lead melodies have in the long run, but at least at the moment I'm greatly satisfied. Beneath the overbearing, high-end guitar notes is a steady rhythm guitar line that backs up the main melodies, and the album wouldn't be the same without it even if it's so quiet compared to any other instrument. Drums have a very natural sound to them, effeciently creating a natural feeling, especially the breathing snare drums. The vocals are your general black metal rasps which fit in like a glove, and I have nothing to complain about – not about the vocals, not about the whole album, really. Crépuscule d'Octobre might not be mindblowing but still a really successful journey in authentic black metal that should appeal to other fanatics of rather simple yet atmospheric black metal as well. Plus, just take a look at the front cover! It's brilliant, going hand in hand with the previous album's natural theme.

4 / 5

NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR: "La Seigneurie des Loups"

The cover art of Neige et Noirceur’s second full-length La Seigneurie des Loups implies that the album contains a load of wintry black metal, and to some extent that is very true: sharp guitars bring forth cold melodies while rapid (programmed) drums batter like a blizzard and somewhat effected vocals provide chilling atmosphere à la ColdWorld and Paysage d’Hiver. There’s a lot of hypnotizing moments in the music, not unlike Darkspace, given the somewhat machined feeling that the drums cause.

But what makes La Seigneurie des Loups mainly different from the aforementioned is the use of traditional istruments. This becomes clear on the first tracks - ”Croix de feu Croix de fer” and ”Ancien Folklore Québécois” - already. Then comes ”1839”, a short interlude of acoustic guitars playing upbeat melodies. These are the distinct features of Neige et Noirceur that are very welcome, though their incorporation into cold black metal isn’t exactly perfect. Hearing happy flute melodies and warm acoustic guitar strumming amidst fiery black metal has its problems, needless to say.

Nonetheless, La Seigneurie des Loups is dominantly a positive experience in the end. Song lengths spanning from one to sixteen minutes makes the album a hard piece to digest but worthy of diving into. Fans of the bands mentioned in the first paragraph might enjoy this greatly, even if this isn’t a groundbreaking record in any way.

3 / 5

BORGNE: "Entraves de l'Âme"

Eerie and distant, yet feisty. This kind of words pop up in my mind when listening to Borgne’s fifth full-length, a deadly cold assault of richly textured black metal that even leans a bit on industrial sound as the programmed drums, a true war machine here, rampage on. Think of the ghostly atmosphere summoned by Xasthur (who actually contributed the introduction track to this album) and Elysian Blaze but with the ferocity of later era Blut Aus Nord, and you have an general idea of Entraves de l'Âme.

It was the production that grabbed my attention the best at first: the album sounds huge and there’s a lot of layers that round up multiple synth and guitar tracks - there’s always something to discover from the ambiance of the album. Compositionally, we’re dealing with quite a diverse record, too, ”Die Trying to Take the Rope Off” is a good example, as the massive wall of distortion disappears in the latter half and acoustic guitars take the main role - not quite something that I would have expected, but it works very well. The album reeks of overall malicious atmosphere and succeeds in evoking pictures of sinister utter darkness.

Initially, I was about to give the album a somewhat negative rating, but after multiple spins I fail to think of any reasons why not to say it’s a rather favorable record - so remember to give this more than just a few listens and it will get better in time. Entraves de l'Âme is a strong whole with good total plaing time of 42 minutes and there’s enough compositional diversity to keep it interesting, and one of my only complaints go to the intro track: I find it completely unnecessary that Malefic provided the intro here because it doesn’t really fit together with the rest of the album. It’s good, but would fit so much better on a Xasthur album. 

3,5 / 5

FORTERESSE: "Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines"

When listening to Forteresse’s third album Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines, I am once again reminded of the beauty of minimalism: freezing in moment and just letting the almost motionless music pour into my ears and mind. The wonders of escapism are more than welcome in the middle of my daily hustles, and this album does its job very satisfyingly. I assume that the first offering of Forteresse wasn’t leaning this heavily on ambiance, and the direction started to change to the current one on the second album, so this album shouldn’t come as a shock to those who have heard the previous output, but might disappoint some of the first album’s lovers.

Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines flourishes in ambient: be it in the slow-tempo, highly atmospheric black metal of which the record mostly consists of, or in pure ambient like the second and sixth track on the album. Reverberating, slow drum beats pulse while razor-sharp yet not offensive guitar melodies appear somewhere in the distance, delivering a constant stream of tremolo. Simple, melancholic and occasionally epic melodies, enhanced by prominent, misty synths. The music is very bleak, evoking pictures of barren landscapes throughout the 36-minute playing time during which nothing radically changes: the dynamics are basically the same all the time with the exception of some climax moments and i.e. piano melodies on the fourth track. Screams are somewhere in the distance, too, fitting very well in the overall despondent atmosphere.

Taking a look at the front cover art - which is very much to my taste, by the way, including the placement of the texts - of Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines tells quite much of the album already. Dividing the tracks into seven unnamed movements was a good decision from the band so that one can fully concentrate on the music as a one long piece. The album doesn’t deliver anything new - quite the opposite, remembering how crowded the area of ambient black metal is - but I find myself greatly enjoying the vast aura of the album. This is not something that I could play in every occasion, but for those quiet moments on peaceful winter evenings this is a highly appropriate release to put on. 

3,5 / 5