We have been inundated with French stuff over the past few months, having covered releases as disparate in style as southern groove metal and anarcho-punk to neo-classical black metal. Now my sardonic inner xenophobe might say that France is such a miserable place that it ought to be flooded with bands playing this style of metal, but seriously. Fatum Elisum translates as broken destiny in Latin, supposedly because Ende, the frontman behind the band thought they were destined for failure. I don’t know much of their history, though given that they appeared to have only formed two years ago and released one demo prior to this debut album, well, if this is their idea of a failure then I’d be intrigued to know what a success might sound like! I guess then if you define success by the number of albums you sell the jury is still out (kind of early to be speculating) but if we’re talking purely on a creative level then they have certainly succeeded in crafting a compelling debut album.
Rather interestingly, I was reading how the band recorded parts of their demo in a church which although I’m not sure whether they used a similar technique on this album, fits nicely with the religious vibe I instantly picked up on here. The opening mantra of ‘Eli Eli’ casts the imagination straight into the communal halls of a monastery as robed monks recite their early morning prayers. Quite apt for a Sunday morning, even if what follows is more likely to aid me back into the dark dreamland from whence I had just awoken than to fill me with the energy to face the day. Rather this album makes better evening listening when you want to crank this up full whack and allow the rich and soporific layers of sound wash over you as well as the crushing rhythms. The guitars on ‘In Vain’ are delivered with a catastrophic down-tempo chug and the formidable bassline rises up before all descends into a dirge-like passage, the re-emergence of the chanting giving off a portentous vibe before kicking back up into a hellish furore.
The album really peaks at ‘Phantom’ a fifteen minute epic that really does seem to live up to its name. Angular guitars stir in the mix, seeking to hypnotise the listener while agonising screams haunt the music and the soul. There are shades of My Dying Bride in the clean vocals that come through kind of like the mild streak of sunshine that appears in the midst of a storm; anguished poetic verse that soon disperses as the track ploughs forth with a bit of a swagger. The lead guitar work here is a particularly nice touch and has a rather classic feel to the application which adds a dash of colour to the mix. The title track merges desolate guitars and a low end rumble, while the tortured cries project an aura of despair; in fact the groans and splutters at the start of this track and again on the outro lead me to believe that someone is really on death’s door and probably in quarantine as well! As the track fades out into ‘Dancer Of Spirals’ there’s much more of a sweeping sense of grandeur.
As far as funeral doom goes, this offers nothing particularly new to the table but having said that it is still a perfectly enjoyable release and shows plenty of hope for the future.
http://www.aestheticdeath.com
http://www.myspace.com/fatumelisum
