The debut release from this French four piece is a forgotten gem of a record. I only got my hands on this via an mp3 CD sent to me containing all various projects of a certain Monseuir Boris Doussy.
From the first note this is hook laden brutality all the way. The band claimed Ministry and Godflesh as influences, but sounds more like a mix of The Swans and Grave. The opening title track floored me with the classic DM riffing, and aptly savage arrangement interspersed with the gothic emotional mid-part. Some dissonant riffing here and there greatly lifts the final product above the hordes of 90’s DM. “Sweet Virtual Picture” has a more cyber thrash feel (Voivod maybe), and the chunky groove makes way for the more brutal death metal segues. This band could have gone places, had they been on the right label at the right time, as the swirling dissonance/blasts juxtaposition in the song attests. Monseiur Boris could have coded this at a higher bit-rate than the basic 128 kbps, as it does the already muddy 90’s DM demo production no favors (though strangely nostalgic of what was easily the golden era of extreme metal).”Perpetual Change – my Desire” continues the cyber onslaught. Stop start riffing and those haunting open string chords make for some great metal. They again battles it out with death metal to devastating effect. All six songs on this release follow the same building blocks: death metal, some Meshugga-ish thrash, Voivod/Killing Joke atmospherics and a maturity in composition. Give this is a modern production and instrument tones and thus could take any modern contender to the cyber-death Thrash throne head on. Thankfully it completely manages to avoid the yawn inducing Fear Factory theatrics so prevalent then and now. “The Unknown Sensation” another great and dark riff and that old Swans groove, as well as chanting vocals, all of which is shot to hell with the (now expected) barrage of thrashy death. This song features another great section riff and best exemplifies all that the band offered. All songs here are 6 minutes or more, but the band keeps things varied and spliced up with enough interesting twists and turns to warrant repeated listens. The charged closer “The Last Dream” nicely ends this underground classic, a monument to a time when bands knew how to make vibrant interesting death metal.
Alas this is also the only thing the band released before members moved on to other projects, including the totally insane Bristol Meyers Squibb (reviewed elsewhere).
-Suleiman
VITALS:
Release: 1997
Label: Self Released
Avantgenre: Industrial Death Metal
Duration: 35:35
Origin: France
Official site: http://na
Review online since: 24.12.2007 / 10:09:48
TRACKLIST:
01 – Perpetual Change – My Own Desire
02 – Sweet Virtual Pictures
03 – The Last Dream
04 – The Unknown Sensation
05 – Threshold Of Escape
06 – Thoughts Of Self Destruction
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