‘Sel De Pierre’ may only be constructed of six tracks, but they clock in at an impressive thirty-eight minutes, mainly thanks to the epic marathon esque make up of two of its standout tracks ‘Onde’ and ‘In Humus’. Vous Autres have emerged just a year after their full-length debut release and this French black metal duo are back with a vengeance.
‘Sel De Pierre’ is branded with the post black metal tag, but give it the attention it deserves and you will bear witness to a beast with numerous layers, complex facets and a shining example of variety at its best. The soundscapes are impressive and grand, and the soul is raw and dirty with a technical ability which shines through the barren and dark façade.
‘Onde’ opens the album with chunky and melancholic riffing. There is a tormented sound from the offset and a sublime melody which beats the rest of the emotions into submission. It resembles almost a marching back beat, and this conjures up images of Satan’s army marching into war against Gabriel with Beelzebub orchestrating the whole movement. The vocals of β are vicious and riddled with spite. They are spat out with passion and purpose and this only seems to encourage F to fire as much, if not more, passion and drive into the accompanying musical components
‘Vesuve’ opens with a doomy and moody guitar riff before a majestic and harrowing drumbeat joins the constitution. Atmosphere is overflowing and ebbs and flows for the rest of the track with Maxine Fevbet, of Deluge notoriety, adding power and precision to the vocal platform, this then creates depth and delicate beauty from the offset. ‘Vesuve’ is complex and dominant with leadership and sharpness which generates a true behemoth of a track amongst the black forestry of other tracks on the album.
‘Ecueil’ carves itself open with the sound of wood burning, crackling, and popping on presumably an open fire within some cavernous acoustic location. The journey then takes us down a frost-bitten path through majestic landscapes and barren clearings. The pace is slower than many of the other tracks on the album and this all leads your acoustic eye to the delicate and fragile nature of the track. It has been decided for ‘Ecueil’ to omit any form of vocal offering and the track is left as a carcass of instrumental abilities. This all adds to the splendour and narcistic tendencies that the band are so adept to spawning, and all with good reason I hasten to add. The track is grand and iconic, and you will not miss any spoken words until you realise the track is over and you have moved onto more audible battering from ‘Sans Sèves’
‘Sans Sèves’ takes no prisoners from the opening bars to the closing chords. A stripped-down track in terms of length and an all-out assault on every sense known to man. There are shades of light and fragility amongst the brute force and pounding throughout. The vocals seem to be more poisonous and brutal than other tracks and they seem to be tortured and agonising with every breath. The chords are powerful, and mesmerising and they seem to be devising a strategy of domination amidst the breakneck power and dominance of the drums sitting in the background.
‘In Humus’ starts with the slowest of all the openings on the album. RSTD adds vocal flare and harshness to this track. The pace, at times, attempts to deviate back to its sibling’s stature in terms of pace and violence but it never seems to be able to. There is a slower beat and tempo to the song and this may cause some to class it as a welcome respite, others may deem it an unnecessary break in a well built stature, either way you look at it, the structure and build to this track is clever and astute, exampling another side to the French duos arsenal
‘Nitre’ is built around bird song. Another atmospheric master and something which I have personally never heard the likes of before. It is instrumental and beautiful, delicate, and intricate throughout. It is the shortest offering on the package and it injects just enough soul and content to generate a thought provoking mood with enough epic proportions to cascade emotion and sentiment and a perfect ending to the raw and hostile events that has preceded it. Some may argue that a track like ‘Nitre’ has no place on a black metal release, I would firmly disagree and argue that its place is rightful as it allows thought and reflection to be provoked, and with this album having so many components and angles, reflection is well and truly needed
This is a massive leap into the black metal world from a different angle, one which certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but, if you are open to a little diversion on your black metal highway, then please welcome this with open arms
(8/10 Phil Pountney)
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