Vediog Svaor - In The Distance (2001)

Vediog Svaor is this one-man psychedelic/progressive/avant-garde/whatever black metal project from France. The whole project surrounds themes such as space, coldness, abstract bullshit and eldritch horrors from the 11th dimension. Actually, I’m not sure about that latter part, but there’s like a multitude of metal bands out their with a hard-on for Cthulhu and the Old Ones, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of reference to Yog-Sothoth in Vediog Svaor’s “In the Distance”. I can’t really tell if there is, because I can’t understand French for the life of me, but man, I am just going to assume this album has something to do with Yog-Sothoth, the Old Ones…and like the coldness of space or something.

Even if it has nothing to do with Lovecraftian horror, it’s still probably my favourite discovery of last year. It’s considered progressive black metal but it has nothing in common with its kin. The album has this sort of retro-ish, melancholic vibe while still maintaining a very bleak yet almost mystical atmosphere. The best way I can describe it is imagine Les Legions Noire, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin all get into this wild free-for-all knife fight and kill each other in a frenzy of blood, guts and inverted crosses; then some insane Lithuanian scientist, with a degree in blowing the fuck out of everything, decides to harvest their corpses and creates some sort of gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god out of their body parts; but of course it rebelled and escaped the insane scientist’s underground lair because it is a whiny bitch who doesn’t want to rule the world with a golden fist but would rather pursue his own ‘creative endeavours’. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, it meets up with Ved Buens Ende in their early days and asks if they want to jam out, but something went very wrong during the jam and it ended up consuming their souls instead.

So yeah, what I’m pretty much trying to say is Vediog Svaor is that gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god…composed entirely out of musicians’ body parts, and it consumes souls and stuff.

Maybe it’s best if you just listened to the damn album.

Inpestae - Cold and Dead (Psykothic Violence)(EP 2008)

Genre:Raw Black Metal

Country:France

Raw Black Metal.You either hate it or you love it.Of late even this genre,like many others,are spawning out tons of bands that end up sounding generic and surprisingly,even these generic bands make it big,In the bargain some bands that make an effort to sound different lose out in the rat race.Very often,these so called 'raw black metal bands' are nothing but 'badly produced' stuff.

What we have here is Inpestae.A band which knows the difference between raw black metal and badly produced black metal.
Production wise,Inpestae is raw as hell but not lo-fi.Rather it has a very powerful atmosphere.By atmosphere I do not mean synth wankery but rather the riffing,drumming and bass.
The riffs on the album are catchy and pretty minimal,but they are effective.Noise is a main element in this album.It can get pretty annoying if good headphones are not used.Multiple listens will be required to judge the album.It's more like a wall of noisy distorted riffs done to such perfection that it compels the listener to sit and listen to the entire album.At times it tends to sound a bit industrial too,but in a good way ofcourse.The vocals are typical black metal vocals.Sinister.
The album is short and does not drag on in anyway.
One of the main things that makes this album really enjoyable for me is the fact that the riffs are not tremolo picking based.They are thrashy.
Overall the album is pretty brutal though it does vary in tempo from midpaced to very fast.
The drumming blends in really well with the music. 
Fans of raw black metal should definitely get their hands on this one.
You'll probably hate the album at first,but in all honesty,the album's a real grower.

Load it down

Insane Vesper Megapost

Genre-Raw Black Metal

Country:France

It's shocking why this band hasn't got more recognition yet,given the sheer amount of professionalism and maturity in their music.Insane Vesper play some really crunchy raw black metal laden with layers and layers of riffs.Very intense but at the same time very varied and not repetitive at all.Excellent songwriting and an amazing guitar tone,which makes the album fuckin' heavy.Some really catchy stuff in here.The band has got one demo,one split and two EPs to their credit.While the demo is pretty neat,the split and the 2 EPs kick major black metal ass.No filler tracks are present and each song is as good as the others.Very tight.Vocals are not the typical black metal shriek.Instead they are chaotic and 'thin'.The drumming is awesome as well.Productionwise,it's what one would expect from a raw BM band...'old school' but in no way annoying.

Insane Vesper's part in the split is fuckin' amazing.Each song slays,with the track 'Crown of Disease' being my personal favourite.The RIFFS!!

The other two bands on the split are Istidraj and Ironfist,both from Singapore.Both these bands play really good black metal and this helps in making the split one of the best ones out there.

Both the EPs are killer material although the 'Twilight of Extinction' EP has an upper hand(due to the presence of more songs).

Well,just get them already!!

Highly recommended for fans of raw black metal or in general,black metal with fucking balls and none of that melancholy shitass synth wankery.

Get the 'Twilight of Extinction' EP first,then the split and then their remaining stuff.

Unholy Procession(Demo 2003)

Blasphemous Demonic Trinity(Split 2005)

Twilight of Extinction(EP 2008)

Therefore, He Shall Consume(EP 2009)

--Poseidonx

Magma - K.A. (2004)

I know most of you grimtards are familiar with Magma, but from what I can tell this little gem has managed to slip under the radar. Maybe because it's about three decades removed from the band's golden era, but rest assured this album is amazing.

Mediafire

Eskaton - 4 Visions (1979)

More Zeuhl for you. I don't find this quite as strong as the magnificant Magma, which would be their most obvious reference point for sound. Though I'm far from experienced in the genre, from what I've heard many non-Magma Zeuhl bands deign not to imitate Magma's vocal style directly, but Eskaton certainly doesn't care in that respect. The music itself is far more minimalistic, with spacey keyboards replacing many instances of electric piano, and an overall confined atmosphere that creates an otherworldly listening experience. Highly recommended, though if you're entirely new to Zeuhl you may wish to track down some of the works of Magma and Christian Vander before venturing further into the boundless territories of Avant-Prog.

Mediafire: Part 1, Part 2

Fate - Odyssey (Best of/Compilation)

Genre : Experimental Brutal Death Metal

Country : France

OMFG DEATH METAL BAND WITH A DJ!!

Well, that pretty much sums up why this band is labelled 'Experimental'. But I must add the scratches are added tastefully and not overdone so it merges with the riffs and does not stick out like a sore thumb. This is a compilation and the Dj was only for one album so don't expect scratches on every track.

As far as the BDM part goes, there's nothing ground breaking happening here. The riffs sound similar to say Devourement and Dying Fetus but they do pull off quite a few surprised by doing so. The vocals are quite strong and mainly grind influenced. Get this album if you'd like to hear something new that hasn't been done bad.

Enjoy!

Shub-Niggurath [France] - Les morts vont vite (1986)

This ain't the Mexican death metal band, but an actually quite awesome Avant-Prog band from France. This album is all kinds of amazing, featuring tons of strange quasi-melodies, unearthly chanting vocals and some great percussive sections. It has a shitload of atmosphere, the demented, Obscura-esque kind atmosphere that gives the album a strangely alluring aspect. Highly recommended for progheads, but it's also a great transition record (at least for me it was).

Megaupload (sorry for the lix.in, not my idea)

Oh, and thanks to Adam (AGreenman) for giving me the rec ;)

Akphaezya - Anthology II: Links from the Dead Trinity

Genre : Avant-garde Gothic/Progressive Metal with Jazz and World Fusion influences.

Country : France

Hailing from the highly innovative French Metal scene is Akphaezya combining Progressive Metal with some very enjoyable soft Jazz, samples of instruments from across the world and some harsh vocals for aggression and packing it all tight into one album. The album almost effortlessly shifts genres, be it piano driven easy listen jazz to distorted guitars with harsh vocals and back, every track on this album has something new to offer.
One of the reasons why this album is so interesting is the vocalist and painist Nehl Aëlin who can pull of growls, extemely fast high pitched singing, operatic yet non sopranoish vocals, broadway vocals, eastern tone and whispers and utilizing them at precisely right time to perfectly complement the music played.
As far as the music goes, at some points your not quite sure which instrument is being played and the transitions between some bass and drum thumping to a sweeping melody with piano and guitars to a very catchy chorus is executed flawlessly. The inclusion of samples from various cultures to their music has not been overdone and is an added advantage to their music. Well fitted and memorable solos, a very clear bass tone, joyful piano and complementing drums make this album a memorable listen.
Approach with an open mind and you should love this.

Enjoy!

ADX - Exécution (1985)

Mesdames et Mesieurs, je vous presente un album d' ADX une bande de speed metal fondé 1982 à Paris!

As most other french heavy metal associated acts ADX sing in their native language which should not bother you if you understand the universal language of speed metal.
This album sounds like the ultimate weapon forged of speed, melody and metal by a bunch of talented musicians who knew that they were capable to cope with the strong international "rivals". They did never reach the fame of Exciter, Razor, Anthrax or Metallica who made it to the top (3 of these 4 by changing to a thrash metal sound) anyway they would have deserved it.

Download or die!

Aäkon Këëtrëh - Dans La Forêt (1996)

Probably the most significant and interesting element of the LLN (Les Légions Noires) movement comes from Lord Aäkon Këëtrëh.

With the use of just the guitar and a single song that incorporates some chanting and screams this demo has a very minimalist overall sound, creating a feeling of despair and depression much more so than 90% of the self proclaimed DSBM bands out there.

The album consists of 8 songs and clocks in at just over the 20 minute mark, in fact this album is more like a single piece of music that has been split into eight singular tracks. What Aäkon Këëtrëh has created is not an album that will be liked by many and loved by less, yet for those who can, a great piece of dark and dreary ambient awaits.


Rating: 83/100
Genre: Dark Ambient
Download: Rapidshare
Disclaimer: None of the albums I add are uploaded by myself and are intended for promotional purposes only, if you enjoy the album please support artists by buying records.

- RTG