The French language black metal scene has always had a special place in my heart. As a Francophone and as someone who first experience black metal through this scene it's hard not to be immediately predisposed towards this wonderfully dark corner of the genre. Fortunately it seems that Chaines, on their new album Les Litanies des Chaines do an excellent job of tapping into this darkness and keeping the legacy of underground resistance alive and wonderfully violent. It's black metal done to worship Satan - which is all we need at the end of the day!
There is an overarching stench of email that permeates Les Litanies des Chaines that makes it very hard to pull away from the darkness that defines Chaines. These are songs that don't apologize for their overarching sense of misery and the blazing fires that sculpt their sound. These are songs that understand the inherent torment of this music and the horrors within. Chaines have crafted one of the most satanic and unrepentant black metal records of the year - an album that consistently gouges at eyes and claws at throats, begging for more souls to be sacrificed to the tremolo picked riffs, thin production and blasting drums.
While Les Litanies des Chaines is certainly not reinventing the steel, it is a hell of a compelling record and a fitting addition to the French black metal canon. Chaines are defined by blazes in the northern skies and an unrelenting approach that is ensconcing and sure to drag you deep into a world of black pits and the hopelessness of the human condition. Chaines understand that there is no escaping the torment of this world and that our living hell is the only reality we will ever experience. This is their soundtrack to our permanent purgatory.
Pre-order the album!
No comments:
Post a Comment