Sortilege was an early French heavy metal band that was originally known under the name Blood Wave. In October 1981 they changed their name to Sortilege. In 1983 they toured their home country in support of Samson and Def Leppard. They contributed with a track called "Cyclope De L'etang" on the Ebony Records compilation album "Metal Warriors" but eventually ended up signing with German label Steamhammer Records in early 1984 after having released their self-titled debut album through the Dutch Rave On label. The Steamhammer albums were released in French versions on Devil's Recordings ("Métamorphose") and Rocks Records ("Larmes de Héros").