Là
bonne grosse claque que voilà ! L’underground français regorge
d’excellentes surprises, voila ma réflexion après avoir écouté autant
de fois que faire se peut le premier full length du discret Sacrarium, groupe formé en 2001 et originaire de Lorraine. « March to an inviolable death » est donc le premier full lenght de Sacrarium,
groupe évoluant dans un registre Black/Brutal Black haineux, ayant
sorti à ce jour deux démos passées presque inaperçues (« Land of
forgotten souls » 2004, et « Lost by your Belief », 2006). Bon
Dieu, quelle puissance ! En aucun cas l’auditeur lambda ne serait tenté
de dire qu’il s’agit là d’une autoproduction, bien au contraire.
Certains gros groupes connus ne font pas mieux et devraient en prendre
de la graine. La production fait bénéficier l’ensemble d’un son
vraiment puissant et propre, bien équilibré, et duquel on peut
discerner la basse assez clairement. Ce premier album est déjà une
grande réussite rien que par le traitement du son -même la batterie
programmée passe plutôt bien et n’a rien de rédhibitoire -. Premier bon
point pour Sacrarium : la puissance et la justesse du son. «
March to an inviolable death » fait ensuite l’effet d’un gros pavé dans
la tronche si on se l’enfile d’une traite : dense, lourd, voire
écrasant, mais heureusement homogène et très bien pensé ; il est de
toute évidence le fruit de musiciens expérimentés, qui maitrisent leur
sujet et qui ont de la hargne à revendre. On appréciera l’intro qui
ouvre le bal en mettant l’auditeur dans l’ambiance, minimaliste mais
efficace, tout comme l’outro -qui cela dit est un poil longuette,
5minutes quand même !-. Les vocaux, haineux et puissants, portent
l’ensemble vers le haut. Les morceaux s’enchainent et le niveau reste
le égal, Sacrarium envoie tout et
impressionne par la maturité des compositions, par leur impact, bref,
par le travail d’ensemble qui a été fait pour donner jour à cet album.
Et malgré le côté épais, sirupeux des compos, et leur densité, les
trois quart d’heure que dure cet album passent aisément, sans se faire
sentir, car le groupe à l’intelligence de ne pas donner dans le blast
inutile et dans la brutalité à outrance, mais aère au contraire
l’ensemble, notamment avec un morceau instrumental qui permet à
l’auditeur de sortir la tête pour respirer un peu. Dire qu’une pléthore
d’album qui sont souvent de belles merdes sortent chaque jours avec
l’appui de gros labels et de distributeurs , et que de tels groupes
attendent encore d’être signé, et continuent coûte que coûte d’évoluer
dans l’underground, en toute discrétion, sans soutient si ce n’est
celui de la passion de la musique… Ce premier effort des lorrains ne
se démarque pas par son originalité, certes, mais il vaut toutefois
largement le détour. Je le conseille donc à tout fan d’un Black brutale
et sans concession. Vous avez aimé le « Lightslaying rituals »Temple of
Baal ? « March to an inviolable death » est fait pour vous. Oui ma
p’tite dame, pour un premier album, nous avons droit à une bonne grosse
claque ! Well done.
METAL ARCHIVES Fast, aggressive, brutal … and not really fresh - 65%.... Written by oneyoudontknow on November 16th, 2009....
The French band Sacrarium beat the dead horse 'fast and brutal black metal' with their debut
full-length March to an Inviolable Death again. And even though they
seem to be capable to playing their instruments quite well and also
possess some skill in composing some interesting motives, the taste of
old wine in new skins cannot be covered. On seven tracks (plus intro
and a quite long outro; 5:33, seriously?) they keep their style to one
basic approach: fast forward with a good deal of tremolo-picking,
massive blast-beat-drum-computer-torment, Emperor Magus Caligula
inspired vocals … etc. Also the tempo is rather high, but not overdone
and short eruption of slower parts enrich the music in a neat way. The
production has given the instruments a good deal of power, a bit too
clean maybe, and also the bass can be found in the background. So, all
this is very solid and well performed stuff …....
Kill the
drum-computer, please. Even though it is not as annoying as on the
debut album by the Polish band Amarok, entitled Blasphemous Edictum,
the annoying and monotonous performance of this instrument is a strain
to listen to. What is the point of these endless and plain blasts? What
good shall come from its bad programming, which can be discovered on
this album? Again it backfires and drags the music down into some place
where no one cares about it any more. There are some nice ideas on this
album, but they are too limited and fail to fascinate in the long run;
especially when considering that the performance by Sacrarium offers not much in particular and is pretty close to Dark Funeral and also Setherial.....
Final bits and bytes....
Currently
this piece of art can be downloaded from Jamendo and it is possible to
enjoy it; despite all the flaws and lack of originality. Fans of
aggressive and brutal black metal should give this release a try. They
might this piece of art interesting as the overall performance is
good.....
Note:....
The last track (aside from the Outro)
has the title This is the Final Warning. Hm, sounds like it marks a
last step before … something … will happen. The (and not 'a') last
chance to turn the wheel around. Hopefully, the band's next release can
clear matters up a bit or some event in the interval might help us
understand what this threat is all about. The end is near … maybe.....
Recommended tracks:....
Demolish by Himself (keyboards and guitars create some neat tension here)....
Sacrarium – March To An Inviolable Death (2009) [Self-Released] // Grade: B- French Black Metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Sacrarium doesn’t seem to be phased by that. Like most Black Metal, the guitar
and drum combination is somewhat overpowering, leaving the listener
enveloped in a rain of blast beats. March To An Inviolable Death has
blast beats, but the riffs seem to overpower the drums in most of the
songs.
The opening track “A.C.R.H.” contains the typical
war-like chants and vocal overlays and feeds directly into “Heartless
Visions”, one of those blast beat tracks I was referring to earlier. At
a staggering 7-minutes long, your initial reaction is to skip the
track. What keeps me tuned in though is the lead singer’s (V.R.S.?)
vocals. That and the constant onslaught of intricately-woven riffs
which grow in intensity, overpowering the drummer’s work. The track
peaks mid-way where synthesized noise leads you down a different path,
reminiscent of Satyricon’s “Diabolical Now”.
This is why I like
this album so much. It’s filled with changes and shifts in tempo, which
drastically improve the album’s composition as a whole. “Demolish By
Himself” picks up some of the same riffs and drums, but more so here,
than before, the riffs begin to slow down towards the end of the track,
where the band’s melodic side begins to show.
“Phantomatic Landscape” was the moment where I realized Sacrarium is more than likely using a drum machine. It’s fast as fuck. The track
pounds you with blast beats and rapid double kicks. “Through Centuries”
continues the same assault and it’s only during “Terribilis Est Locus
Iste” where you pick up the melodic guitar riffs once again.
“This
Is The Final Warning” is by far the best track on the album. It’s
brutal, fast, and for once, you can begin to pick up on the lead
singer’s lyrics. It’s almost as if he wants you to understand what he’s
saying here, like it is an actual warning. With his last breath, the
album dies, leaving you the “Outro”, which is mostly more apocalyptic
noise.
Overall, if you’re a huge Black Metal fan and you always
need to hear the new albums, it’s a good choice, it’s fast, technical
and plays really well. If you’re looking for something new in the
genre, you can skip it. This album is straight up French Black Metal. Sacrarium is a good band with even greater potential. I’m sure their next release will be even better.
