26 minutes isn’t a lot of time to get your point across, especially in Black Metal where enveloping and overwhelming darkness is important. This four track demo is the work of Neptrecus, a recently formed band, who promote their music as “Black Metal de France”. As a country with a healthy or, if you prefer, unhealthy tradition in this genre, this sounded enticing.
“L’Eternel Sablier” (“The Eternal Hourglass” – nice title) gets into our face straightaway. The build-up is exciting. Meandering guitars accompany blasting drums. The drum work throughout this work is varied and impressive. The vocalist makes sure that dark clouds are whipped up. It’s not unlike Marduk at this point. The intensity heightens. The guitar riff is good but a little weak given the need for overwhelming force, but there’s nothing wrong with the rest of it. The fury can be felt. There’s a change of tack and spiralling guitar work complements the fast and furious scene.
Rolling drums and an alluring rhythm ensure a thunderous start to “Magna Grecia”. After that it’s a different track. It’s driving, ferocious and faintly melodic, slowing down in the later stages and in doing so expanding the dark air. It’s often the case in Black Metal that the slower or more measured the delivery, the more atmospheric it is. The start of “Auld Alliance” is electric with the vocals adding venom in the background to a sharp drum and guitar line. As with the previous tracks, what follows is fine but left me by the roadside compared to the beginning. I couldn’t work out if it was supposed to be pure venom or a technical treat. It has elements of both but the mix doesn’t entirely work in an attractive way. I felt that I wasn’t in the middle of the storm but an onlooker.
The fourth piece, “L’Aube du Déclin” (“The Dawn of Decline”) has yet another dramatic opening – this is a definite strength. This time Neptrecus see to it that the track maintains its path instead of heading off in another separate direction. “L’Aube du Déclin” reminded me in musical style of fellow French band Himinbjorg. It had me humming the rhythm which stays with it like a beckoning call. This is the least violent but for me the best track on this demo. There’s a logical lead in to an excellent guitar strain which finally fades, leaving me wanting more.
If Neptrecus could build on their openings and maintain the atmospheric magic as they do on “L’Aube du Déclin”, they would be a really great band. I sensed plenty of ideas, heard lots of good instrumental work and felt in parts the ferocity that good Black Metal should have, but what this needed was less change and more subtlety. Not bad though.
http://www.myspace.com/neptrecus
http://www.myspace.com/mortishumanae
Andrew Doherty
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