Whilst forever being labelled as industrial black metal, I’ve never quite got where the industrial label really came from where they were concerned, save for the title of their debut album ‘Industrial Mental Concept’. Like their countrymen Blut Aus Nord, experimental metal may be a more apt description; but all you really need to know if you are unfamiliar with Reverence is that they are French, and in recent years the term ‘French black metal’ has been as synonymous with quality as German thrash, Yorkshire doom or… Norwegian black metal! Suffering a light critical mauling after their last album ‘Inactive Theocracy’, the question fans have been asking is can Reverence recapture the depth and atmosphere of their early work?
Opening with an understated and hugely atmospheric orchestral arrangement, first track ‘Earth’ soon turns into a twisted and sprawling black metal monster. With much in common stylistically with Blut Aus Nord, the pace and rhythm seems determined to trip you up, and this allied to a moody guitar riff and some dark barking by vocal monster I Luciferia, Reverence set the standard at a very high level. The arrhythmic and discordant riffing should make for a more difficult listen, yet it makes perfect sense on this album, and ‘Darwin’s Black Hall’ holds the attention early on where the easily dissuaded would usually be switching off. The vocals occasionally drift from the standard; yet more than competent rasping roar, to a more nuanced style reminiscent of Skinny Puppy which certainly keeps things interesting. The use of background synths to create atmosphere is far more prevalent here than I have noticed in their past, and whilst this is a very common and usually risible cliché in this form of music, I must admit that it gives a depth that I have often found them lacking in their earlier work.
‘Psalm IV’ is delivered as a sermon of violence and hate, with the music and vocals blasting forth like nails tearing into flesh and despite this being a more generic example of the black metal style, it manages to do so with enough style and panache to fully engage you on an elevated sensory level; with screams in the background at an almost undetected level to the anguished sobbing that closes the track, it is an excellent example of the bands artistry. Whilst they are clearly experimenting with a few different styles here, not all of them work in this setting, with ‘Cold Room’ being a good example. Using a Gojira influenced verse structure which I have no problem with in itself, it does feel very slightly out of place here. The same can be said of ‘Those who Believed’, which almost sounds as if it is played by a different band entirely. The layered vocal harmonies are somewhat incongruous with the rest of the band’s sound, and whilst I’m all for bands trying new things, this was one experiment that didn’t work. The title track has more in common with their earlier albums than anything else here; a long mid paced yet psychologically bludgeoning beast that wears you down over its duration, however the more intricate arrangements and production values have their say too, with choirs and multi layered vocals having their part to play.
On the first few listens I was rather nonplussed at ‘The Asthenic Ascension’, expecting as I was something a little rawer, and if truth be told, more plodding. Some of Reverence’s best work has been in their slower, more drawn out and painful work as on ‘Chamber of Divine Elaboration’. The focus here is far more on traditional black metal qualities, albeit with that very identifiable French tinge to it and with modern production values. The shine and quality of the production detracts a little from the performance, (especially when listened to back to back with ‘Industrial Mental Concept’), and the end result is an album that has far less of an impact than it really deserves when you consider the content closely. With that being said, it has definitely grown on me the more I have listened to it, so maybe consider this one a slow burner.
(7.5/10, Lee Kimber)
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