I picked this demo up blind on a large distro purchase just because of the blurb beside it in the catalog: "French satanic black metal - very good." Well, thanks to the nonexistent liner notes, I know nothing more about the band except that this demo was limited to 333 copies. And that the catalog writer wasn't exaggerating too much. This is fast black metal in the French style (Vaguely FBL-like melodic tendencies, harsh-screeched vocals, etc.), with three songs clocking in at about seven minutes apiece. The use of a drum machine makes this stuff sound a bit stiff, but there's some interesting things going on structure-wise as they shift often between the fast-strum/blast bits to the more midpaced strut sections often - and, of course, some good clean-guitar interludes worked in. There's also occasional use of brutal, deep vocals to offset the higher pitched vox. It may seem a bit overdone these days, but they pull off the style effectively and manage to create a fairly dark atmosphere. Recommended for French Black Metal fans.

© 2003 lord vic