The appeal of this album went up for me when I read the promise of something dark and vicious and of a more “violent atmosphere” than its predecessor “Livre Troisième” (2021). The work of Les Chants du Hasard goes under the moniker “extreme opera” and accordingly I have found it to be challenging. The artist behind Les Chants du Hasard, conveniently known as Hazard, did release a black metal album in 2023, and I fully expected this genre to be represented here on “Livre Quart”.
The album is divided into seven “chants”. Pieces of theatre would be an apt description. The start is orchestrally dark and extravagant. Voices waver in the menacing obscurity. Hazard is accompanied on his venture by a soprano and tenor. Everything points to horror and ghastliness. In spite of lasting 5 minutes, “Parmi les Poussières” (Among the Dust) is ephemeral. The bells ring. Faint screams and deep voices can be heard amid the sinister orchestral scene. It’s called “La Chauve-Souris” (The Bat) and would be an accurate representation of bats fluttering around in the catacombs. Our operatic duo vie for attention as this turbulent soundscape continues on its orchestral path. There’s no doubt that Hazard has created a terrifying soundscape. As before however, I struggled to grasp it. What I was hearing was a mood. There’s some transformation but whilst imaginative and certainly not mundane, this wasn’t fuelling my imagination. That was “Les Bruits du Monde” (The Sounds of the World) – some twisted and bleak world it is.
The tense musical score and operatic distortions continue, leaving me further in the dark in every sense. “Sous La Mitre de Fer” (Under the Iron Mitre) and “La Nuit Échappée” (The Night Escaped) perpetuate the gloom and menace, and here and there the sadness. A scream woke me from my torpor. The sounds are urgent. This is operatic drama but I’m not sensing any progress. Dark orchestral clouds pile upon more dark orchestral clouds. “Procession Du Sabbat” (Procession of the Sabbath) befits its title. Dark waves, heralding, crashing sounds and violent, shrill voices line the unrelenting procession. Finally we enter “Les Ombres Vagabondes” (The Wandering Shadows). A voice acts as narrator as a range of orchestral instruments reinforces the drama. It’s nightmarish. That would be a good description of the ambiance as a whole.
Without doubt “Livre Quart” is atmospheric, as Hazard sticks to his guns and creates an unfailingly imposing scene and aural turbulence through his orchestrally extreme opera. This is avant-garde and creative, but just too slow-burn and ultimately hard-going, I found.
(5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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