No, this is not Battersea Power Station burning away coal, polluting its surroundings, contributing to global warming and climate change, but apparently a Quebecoise equivalent. Although I don’t know the specific location depicted on the cover of the album at hand, you don’t need to speak French to get the message that the combination of band name, album title and cover photo are conveying. The message seems even more urgent at a time when Canada is ravaged by wildfires, eating away at ancient forests and creating problems for decades to come. Indeed, pollution-spreading man-made structures like the one featured on Trépas new album Les Ombres Malades are a sickening sight to behold, maybe even more so in the far North of Canada than in one of Europe’s major cities.
Pointing out the various ways human beings harm their natural surroundings and thereby themselves seems a fitting subject for a misanthropic atmospheric black metal outfit, and Trépas from Quebec City, Canda, are just that. Although the band members have their roots in Quebecoise death metal, precisely in the bands Outre-Tombe and Morgue, they have come together in Trépas to display a more brooding and melancholic side. And so far, this has worked out pretty well – their debut album L’héritage du monde (2020) was well received, and it looks like Les Ombres Malades will follow in its footsteps.
The album opens with someone seemingly waking from the dead and filling their lungs with air. After that, Trépas have a short flirt with goth rock, before plunging headfirst into the established black metal template. The listener is treated to thunderous drumming, sweeping sound, tremolo-picked melodies and characterful vocals, with singer Goliatt’s vocal performance being certainly one of the album’s most memorable aspects. His singing is deep, guttural and rough, but the words are surprisingly easy to comprehend. If you know French, you will be able to understand the lyrics without much difficulty.
As is customary for the genre, the music changes from razor-sharp black metal to more meditative, sometimes acoustic passages. However, Les Ombres Malades, thankfully, does not overdo the ruminating part and distinguishes itself this way from post-black output. Also, apart from melancholia, there are multiple other emotions to be detected in the music. You will be able to make out a sense of foreboding and danger alongside desperate screams, but you will also hear rebellion and uprising in some melodies. Trépas thus fit well into the Quebecoise black metal scene, while simultaneously distinguishing themselves from it with their chosen subject.
All in all, I enjoyed listening to Les Ombres Malades. It is a stringent, well-produced, easy-listening atmospheric black metal album that avoids lengthy excursions leading nowhere characteristic of post-black metal. The red thread here is never lost. Since it ticks all the right boxes, the album might well end up being one of this year’s favourite releases among genre fans.
(7.5/10 Slavica)
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