Belenos
Notre Amour Eternel
[Independent]


Some more excellent French black metal. But BELENOS sound nothing like anything else coming from their country. "Notre Amour Eternel" is quite original and reeks of total sadness and depression for almost the entire 47+ minutes that this CD plays (this isn't any more evident than on the track "Le Visage De La Solitude", probably one of the five most depressive sounding songs ever to find a way to my ears). The biggest musical influence I can hear is BETHLEHEM, but this is even more depressing. All lyrics are in French, and most vocals are done in a high-scream fashion, similar to country mates BLUT AUS NORD. There's also some surprisingly good clean vocals and even a few "gothic moans" (like on "Into the Pandemonium", but they sound much different than Mr. Warrior) and spoken passages. Honestly, this is just one of those albums that should be heard by all, but the band has yet to equal (or come even close) to this...


© 2000 bathym