Band: Seth
Album: La France des Maudits
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: France
Label: Season of Mist
Released: 14 July 2024
Introduction
Does this band need an introduction? For the most of you, that won’t be necessary. The band itself has been around since the end of the 90s and released their first album, Les Blessures de L’âme in 1996. But for most folks, the band really entered their consiousness with the La Morsure du Christ album, released in 2021.
Myself I’ve known the band since those first two albums, I also saw them live once back then, although that’s a bit too long ago for me to remember how the show was (it was in 2001). I lost track of them after that and, as said for the most, I reconnected with the music/albums again in 2021 with the release of La Morsure du Christ.
And now we are 3 years further and Seth is back with a new album, their seventh full length is titled La France des Maudits (which means France of the cursed ones). So let’s see what they conjured up this time.
La France des Maudits
So three years in the making, and enough folks have been waiting on this release for a while. So what do you get when you buy this album on your favorite format (which, of course, should be tape. Where’s my tape deck?? -Editor) or on the streaming platform of your choice.
Let’s start with the overall sound of the album, which is good. Everything is mixed in very well and the vocals of Saint Vincent are not too far to the back or too much to the front of the track. I prefer the vocals of Vicomte Vampyr Arkames a bit more, but Saint Vincent delivers a good range of vocal types.
What I do miss on this new album (and some previous ones as well) is the speed and furious sound the can make. The first album is much faster and a different kind of black metal all together. This new album follows the same path as the previous album, with a slower tempo black metal and more melodic and symphonic elements. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all, so don’t get me wrong, but my personal preference is the style of their first album.
But that’s personal, of course, and could and should differ for everyone. I’m not saying that the album doesn’t have blast beats and fast drums because it has. But overall, it’s more tame. The album contains the following tracks (see below) and has a runtime of 46 minutes and a bit.
Track list:
- Paris des maléfices
- Et que vive le diable!
- La destruction des reliques
- Dans le cœur un poignard
- Marianne
- Ivre du sang des saints
- Insurrection
- Le vin du condamné
One of my favorite tracks, Insurrection, which is the seventh onr. This song has some fast-paced drums in the first section and the vocals are great, they make a good match. The same goes for the guitar riffs and it all makes for a very nice and well-rounded package.
There is also an interlude around the 4:30 minute mark which slows things down, and you hear the following lyrics (see below) being told, and here is where the vocals really shine. You just feel the agony in his voice.
“Ô Prince des Maudits, toujours à nos côtés
Seth—Insurrection
Quand lassés des secrets, du soi-disant Sauveur, Qui reste sourd la nuit, aux peines sanglotées. Mais toi tu apparais, soucieux de nos malheurs!”
Conclusion
Overall, it’s a good album, and I enjoyed listening to it. Is it their best work so far? No, not for me. I prefer the first album over this. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad album at all. It’s good and that’s enough. What I do like is the overall aesthetic of the band. The clothing, the covers of the albums and their video clips. They really go all in and that’s great.
So are you into atmospheric black metal, with some good vocals and an overall good performance. I recommend you try this album. And now for the grading of said album.
BMZ Rating: 7 – Good: A solid and enjoyable album overall. It boasts strong songwriting and performance quality, delivering a cohesive and satisfying listen.
Support Seth here: https://innomineseth.bandcamp.com/album/la-france-des-maudits
Your opinion on: La France des Maudits
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