For years now I have been extolling the virtues of the French metal scene to anyone who would listen. With bands like Gojira, Blut Aus Nord, Alcest, Deathspell Omega and Mourning Dawn, they have a reputation as a nation of producing some of the most eclectic, inventive and engaging metal to be found anywhere. It was for this reason that I was excited when ‘Je Suis un Monstre’ landed on my desk; the first EP by Dathura, who would surely be the latest in the long list of exciting bands from across the channel. In hindsight it was an excellent reminder as to why you should keep your expectations in check and that talent and a flair for inventive metal is not necessarily a birthright dependant on your country of origin.
Whilst I don’t expect every new band I hear to have an amazingly intricate and unique sound, it is irritating if a band sound like they simply have not tried very hard, just knocking out a few tracks in an afternoon and whacking it on a CDR and proclaiming themselves happy with the result. Ok, so Dathura have not been quite so slapdash, having gone to the trouble of getting some professionally finished CD’s, however the music itself is of the level expected from a local pub metal band. Laden with insipid and unimaginative riffs and a drum sound that can be best described as ‘live’, the overall sound is hamstrung by a lack of weight. Even when the guitars are reduced to staccato chugging, there is no substance behind it and as a result the sound does not so much punch you in the gut as poke you and run away.
So the music is not up to standard, but what about the singing? Unfortunately, it’s even worse. Vocalist Eddy attempts a number of different styles, from a ‘sinister’ spoken vocal to a death metal bark to a straight ‘singing’ voice. Each one is regrettably a total failure. There are moments where the lyrics are spat out with a sneering Gallic attitude as on ‘J’ai Vu’, yet whilst this could have lent some credibility to proceedings it is more than offset by the short guitar and drum bursts which make it sound like a rock/rap effort from the early nu metal period. Things only get worse when Eddy sings normally, being one of those people who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. The moments on this EP where the band start sounding like there may be an underlying talent that just needs polishing up, are usually torpedoed by the awful vocals, and never more so than on the title track and on ‘L’Apocalypse’, which borders on the unlistenable. Je suis amèrement déçu.
(3/10, Lee Kimber)
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