On the face of it, this album oozes eccentric humour and playfulness. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this band is French and this country has a delightful record of eccentric bands: Akphaezya, Carnival in Coal, Edredo Sensible, Morglbl, Anorexia Nervosa … the list is endless of creative artists. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but I had high hopes for this one by Tranzat. I should add at this point that their stated musical influences include Devin Townsend, Opeth, Mastodon and Faith No More amongst others.
“Shall We Dance?” is the initial question. I don’t know about that but the first thing was to get my head round it. Discordant, irregular but somehow coherent hammering metal, it calls upon a host of styles, throws in a bit of jazz, fleeting diddly bop, a lot of pungent darkness and a bit of emotion and flagrant energy. A technical riff is rudely interrupted by vaudeville jazz and direction towards who knows where. It’s not simple but it’s surprisingly hooky. From a deep chorus, someone burps and it all goes tropical, before screamy metalcore meets that deep chorus again and a driving Opeth-style passage to bring “Lobster Beaujolais” to a close. I didn’t say it was normal. Actually it’s both funny and intriguing to learn what’s coming next in the theatre of Tranzat. This whole album is a case of going from the sublime to the ridiculous. These serious court jesters move on to “Mr Awesome”, and in doing so parade a sensitivity which would be worthy of any progressive metal band. Harshness meets emotion. It’s a powerful mix and an epic song. There’s an atmospheric section which could be off Opeth’s “Damnation” but more importantly it fits into the mood of the song. It pulled me along and I’m not complaining. Awesome.
From this we go to the exotic heights of “Climbing Tibetan Mountains to Learn the Secrets of the Mind”. The title actually comes into the lyrics of this heavy progressive power song. The drummer beats his skins with gusto. The rhythm rumbles and the vocals smack of power metal. A haunting background voice does justice to the title, before a colourful guitar solo intervenes. What’s good is that no element dominates any other, meaning that even with all this variety, the structure mains solid. It’s a cracking melodic metal song with oceans of interest. The progressive pomp of which there are hints spill over into the imperious “Count Dranula”. The earlier antics have faded, and whilst it’s still full of imagination, this is fluid melodic metal, oh but with a little instrumental rendition of Happy Birthday to You in the middle. Weighty djentiness mix with delicate vocals on “Morning Glories”. There’s nothing delicate about the dark growls though as the song drives forward on a dark base. There are little twists here and there but the heaviness continues. It’s always dramatic and often theatrical. Here it’s sinister too, as it creeps forward as if through the shadowy night.
“My Dear Washer” ranges between thunderous passages, colourful instrumentals, high-pitched pleas and even a little bit of jazz. “Oh my dear washer, please marry me” we hear. “Pillow Fight” is a riot. Amid a snippet of jazz, a sample and a melancholic section, there is a darkly dramatic song in there. The Opeth epicness is in there but away it hammers and twists and turns and plays with our senses. The vocalist’s pure and emotive tones ring though the ever substantial “Global Warning”. Power pours through the song, but in the progressive and harsh vocals, but also through the weighty instrumentals, which pump blood and life through the song. A quiet passage intervenes, paving the way for an impassioned speech and a dreamy but powerful instrumental passage which takes us to the dramatic end of this amazing journey.
This album has such richness that it requires open-mindedness and a passion for mental gymnastics on the listener’s part. It’s masterfully constructed and creative in the most extreme sense. Ouh la la, indeed.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply