Band:
Stéphane Buriez : guitars, vocals
Drakhian : guitars
Alex Lenormand : bass
Hervé Coquerel : drums
Diskography:
Ultimate Violence (1986), demo K7
Licensed to Thrash (1987), split-cd with Agressor)
Sensorial Treatment (1989)
Disincarnate (1991)
Sublime Dementia (1993)
Cross the Threshold (1993), EP
The Time Keeper (1997), live
Fragments (1998)
A Taste of Death (2000), compilation album
Planet Pandemonium (2004)
Loud, Live and Heavy (2009, CD + DVD)
Info
mixed by producer Peter Tägtgren at Abyss Studio in Pärlby, Sweden.
Released 18/4-2011
Reviewed 19/5-2011
Links:
loudblast.org
myspace
xiii bis records
Musically for some reason I come to think of strange things in combination when I think of XIII-Bis bands, Zuul FX was Mozart meets an Earthquake and with Loudblast it is a Midsummer Night’s Dream meets a loud blast, the story goes that this dream then changes due to this explosion into this frozen landscape between moments in time where some strange figures play strange music and time is as I stated frozen. It is an odd place to be when the Midsummer Night’s Dream change into a Midsummer Nightmare, that is exactly how I think it sounds. If it is too weird or philosophical I can also state that it is melodic extreme metal that is very heavy while still very melodic. It is driven through melody lines and a very modern clean production that seem to focus on these melody lines that bring this album forward despite being in a frozen moment.
The album opens with the title track which is the one that is the main reason for my Shakespeare thoughts about it. The melody in it is catchy and dreamy, it brings me into the song and the album. The first track is probably the best but the tracks on the album are generally good, I think some are worth a mention by name to point out that they are even better. The second track Never Ending Blast is another track worth mentioning, it is what the title implies and it is very good. I also think that the third track which is the video track Emptiness Crushes My Soul is worth mentioning as it is a very good track. The Fifth track Towards Oneness is another one of those tracks and then I also must add the ending track To Bury an Empire which ends the album in a really good way and it is a really good song as well.
So with half of the 41 minutes being really good it would be hard not to give this album a six or better, so why the five? Well, it is a bit long to begin with, I think they should have left one track out, 38 minutes and eight tracks would have been enough and great. Then we have the non-mentioned tracks from the paragraph before and they are not necessarily at the same level as the ones mentioned by name. And if you look at the number of sixes I have set on albums released in 2010 or 2011 you see that there are only five such albums which would indicate that an album needs to be really great in order to receive such a good rating and even though Loudbast has created a great album, it is just not great enough for the top ratings. I like this album though, no doubt about that and I will play it again several times after it has been reviewed.
I think this album has the same great frenchness as the albums by Dagoba and Zuul FX has, this great melodic death metal that brings out a thinking side of me as a listener is something that I think work really well and I think that many people can enjoy this album, not just the ones into dark metal. I do think that Loudblast has succeeded really well with this album and I am impressed with how they manage to incorporate Shakespeare and an explosion within the same frame of music, that is truly something to be impressed about.
So, to round it all off before someone dies from boredom due to my inability to end a review these days, I say that this album is brilliant and I say that you will regret it your whole life if you do not get a copy for yourself. It is an enjoyable Midsummer night’s Nightmare, I think you ought to check them out, they are great!
HHHHHHH
