As far as I can recall, there are five metal bands called Abduction and I wasn’t sure which one this was when I put my hand up for the review so I was pleased to learn that this was the French progressive black metal troupe. Their first two albums ‘Une Ombre régit les Ombres’ and ‘A l’Heure du Crépuscule’ created serious ripples in the underground with mellow pieces nestling comfortably alongside more intense passages and I was keen to hear how things had progressed here.
If you are familiar with the band, you will know that the members are listed as four “plague doctors”, which is of course apt given the current global pandemic in which we find ourselves! You will also know that these plague doctors like to focus on French history and heritage. Jehanne is no exception, paying tribute to Joan of Arc (Jehanne is the medieval spelling of Jeanne which translates to Joan), a French national heroine who led the French to victory against the English in Orléans during the hundred years war, before later controversially being burned at the stake as a heretic.
The opening track ‘Aux Loges Les Dames’ (referring to a venerated spot where Jehanne first heard voices encouraging her to battle) begins with peaceful acoustic guitars and drums, which are soon joined by calm chants before giving way to crisp riffs and machine gun drumming. Vocals quickly join the fray, alternating between clean and growled styles as the track progresses.
This pattern continues on the epic ‘Par Ce Coeur Les Lys Fleurissent’ and during its twelve minutes there is a lot of ground covered, at times raging black metal, at others atmospheric and melodic. The alternating clean and harsh vocals remains prominent and it is here that the album begins to slip for me, with the intensity dropping each time the clean vocals appear, even when sitting atop pummelling black metal.
‘La Chevauchee De La Loire’ is another mammoth at over ten minutes and although it is, at times, a veritable swirling maelstrom, this is not sustained and it loses momentum as quickly as it finds it. It is a similar story on ‘Dieu En Soit Garde’ where dense riffs open with subdued clean vocals before switching to the more acerbic style. An ambient interlude is powerful, and the clean vocals work well during these passages, before the track culminates in more dense black metal.
There is a change in atmosphere as ‘Foi En Ses Murs Jusqu’aux Rats’ opens with a melancholic acoustic guitar piece before building to an intense climax. ‘Battue Par Les Flots Jamais Ne Sombre’ is perhaps a little more straight forward with blast beats, galloping rhythms and riffing to the fore. The acoustic guitar returns on ‘Tres Fidele Au Roi Et Au Trone’ with several variations in style including a hint of Flamenco at one point. Of course, the track explodes into black metal malevolence but as soon as the clean vocals join, the vehemence is lost.
The album is brought to a close with ‘Aux Marches De Lorraine’ where the familiar acoustic guitar intro leads into crunching black metal, only to have the impact lessened once more by the clean vocals.
This is one of those albums that I suspect will divide opinion. There are undoubtedly some outstanding moments, and the album explores numerous different styles, many of which add depth and poignancy. However, one of the key features is the use of clean vocals. I am a fan of the use of clean vocals in extreme metal, but on this album although they work well during the more ambient passages, to my ears they detract from the intensity of the more extreme sections detracting from the album overall. As I say, this will probably divide opinion and I’m sure some will love the album, so if you fancy something a bit different, and like the sound of it why not give it a go.
(7/10 Andy Pountney)
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