Seems to have been a while since I had some Quebecois Metal Noire to review and I really do have a soft spot for it so enter Oriflamme with their debut full length. I looked up their name and apparently an Oriflamme is a banner, a standard. A rallying point. For the fiercely independent Quebec scene it seems a perfect name.
A brooding intro, dark and dense and malevolent gives way to the title track. This is a full-blooded Quebec style assault immediately. The relentless, speed drumming with a wild riff that carries with it a deep layer of melody. The vocals are raucous, harsh and remind me of Forteresse in their attack. It bristles and charges on like tumbling downhill through a forest, needles and branches slashing as it goes before finding its way into a slower, thoughtful passage before rousing itself for the finish. Its impressive stuff, full of a haunting atmosphere and style and very much nestled within the broad church of the Quebec sound.
‘Un Mal Ancien’ is more direct, but no less intense. It has a solid riff and a wonderful change of pace around the four-minute mark as the drums get more intense and the riff darkens and deepens.
A little under twenty minutes for two songs. And neither drags.
Impressive.
‘Espoir Vaincu’ is a short acoustic instrumental, gentle and windswept, contemplative. Solitary. ‘Sacrifices’ though is a simmering piece of black metal, a little Sargeist perhaps until the vocals enter and the song gets jagged and urgent. But the insistent melody, the eerie and almost melancholic feel returns with that Finnish feel. It’s an absolute cracker; tempo changes, vocal twists, pacing. It shows a feral kind of control, not restraint. The three-piece absolutely let the song have its head but they push it, direct it with a grim dexterity you rarely find on a debut.
Epic ‘Ultime Rempart’ almost has a swing in its step, a hint of folk to the melody to begin before the pace whips up and we descend into the Oriflamme maelstrom once more. It moves through passages; harsh to slow pondering to quieter moments but never loses the sombre atmosphere it evokes. With a nice almost dungeon synth outro it has to be said this closes a very impressive debut album.
The production is fine, the sound retaining some rawness without being lo-fi and keeping the atmosphere. The songs are well crafted, thoughtful displays and the performance excellent. If I was to nit-pick I might like to hear the odd slower, gradual transition between passages but that aside this is excellent. A fine addition to the vibrant Quebec scene.
(8/10 Gizmo)
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