It’s widely accepted that the international language of rock and metal is English. That’s not to be jingoistic, and is every bit as likely to do with the origins of the sound in the USA as the UK, and the continuing influences of those areas. As such, to hear a band feature, albeit not exclusively, their native tongue, French in the case of this Corsican collective is refreshing, not to say also taxing on my rusty language skills. I had no prior knowledge of this self-defined “Sornagonic Doom” act prior to getting this review, so let’s crack on. Oh, I’ve no idea what “Sornagonic” means either, and the trusty Google search didn’t help either.
‘Prophète’ starts the album in a suitably massive fashion, both in terms of length and layer upon layer of sound, the near ten minutes encompassing far more than just doom, a multiplicity of rhythms, riffs, keyboards, cleanly delivered vocals, and clever production edging it far more into the realms of Blind Guardian’s power metal styling, so if you were expecting a simple helping of down-tuned guitars and a wall of fuzz from the “Doom” label, well, think again.
‘Megachurch’ follows with a thunderous wall of guitars that could equally be an introduction to a black metal assault or a sludgy dirge, and whilst it veers more towards the latter, the constantly flowing and evolving nature of the track across its quarter of an hour journey speaks of a huge Prog influence in Mazzeri’s sound. Midway through the music gives way to the sound of a howling wind accompanied by a lone plucked guitar, creating the sonic soundscape of a bleak desert, before melding with five minutes of massively sustained power chords. Yes, (no pun intended, unless of course you enjoyed it, in which case, you’re welcome), this written description sounds like it could be nothing but self indulgent noodling, but in the context of the track, and indeed the album, it works.
The sound of a church organ starts ‘Gloria’, a natural sound soon swept away by a sea of unashamedly artificial drum beats and electronica that were the heart of the early synth sound of Kraftwerk, a style that itself evolves into a Sci-fi rock opera presentation of strutting guitar pomp. If that weren’t enough to persuade you that this is not an album that could be pigeon holed into one genre, the band then go full Rick Wakemen with a wall of keyboards sweeping in. This four track album is then rounded out by ‘Gouffre’ (and you will not believe how proud I was that I knew this was ‘Chasm’ before I confirmed the translation), and if there was any doubt as to just how massive the band were capable of sounding, this dispels that. The first two minutes resound with the cathedral filling pipes that would herald a coronation, before morphing into a shoe gazing dirge of Gallic introspection, French lyrics delivered with a laissez faire indifference perfectly accompanied by the darkly played chords that then build into the sort of guitar solo Dave Gilmour once made his own. Were this not enough to tempt and confound the listener, the last half of this epic number is a welter of feedback, effects, and a wave of white noise weaving through the hammering of the bass and drums.
Mazzeri have not created a simple album of the traditional “verse, chorus, verse” structure, rather they have plucked elements of doom, sludge, prog, and even centuries old church organ recital to create a sound that whilst not easily accessible, and definitely not one to have you pulling on your dancing shoes or best circle pit cargo shorts, is one that deserves the investment of a listen. It may well be that after revisiting the album, I could see the initial score I’ve given the review going up.
(7.5/10 Spenny)
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