Ladies and gentlemen,

Here comes one of the first international reviews of Peste Noire's sixth studio record "La Chaise-Dyable" which is a play on words since some of the band members are living in a place called La Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne, France. I would like to make one thing clear from the beginning on. I like the band for its musical atmosphere, diversity and originality influenced by folk music and traditional tales. As somebody who always tries to discover new artistic approaches and unique sounds but who is also fascinated by foreign cultures and world history, I can listen to this kind of music from a certain critical distance. I'm aware of the fact that this isn't the case for everybody. I would like to state that I definitely don't agree on any political, religious or social statement that some of the band members have already made in the past. I'm though able to accept people who don't share my personal points of view. This review is only about this particular album and especially about the music on it and nothing else. If you like an atmospheric record where past and present embrace in a sinister way, this record could be interesting for you but make sure to get some background information about this band before consuming their music. 

Peste Noire is a quite unique experimental black metal band from rural France that sings about the glory of rural traditions as opposed to modern decadence in metropolises. The song writing is quite original as the band convinces both in its more elaborated and technical parts and the fast and simplistic passages. The authentic trio adds accordions, Hammond organs and pianos to their sinister extreme metal sound. The mixture of raw black metal vocals, a few male clean vocals, female clean vocals and even narrative and spoken word passages adds even more diversity to the sound. The French lyrics are also quite addicting and are filled with dark sarcasm and experimental writing techniques. The risk of this unique and open-minded yet uncompromising attitude is that some experiments aren’t successful in the end. In the end, there are indeed a lot of hits and misses on “La Chaise-Dyable”.

The first song “Avant le putsch” is humorous at best and cringeworthy at worst. We hear some animal sounds from rural France before a harmonious acoustic guitar sets in. So far, so good but then we get to hear a horribly discordant electric guitar that just doesn’t fit in at all. The vocals are equally misplaced. They start in a raw but clean way but then annoying blackened back growls kick in that sound completely out of place and tone. The lyrics are also a letdown and tell the weird tale of a man who is masturbating while listening to his farm animals and commenting on a potential revolution that might bring back some glory to his home country. I’m not sure whether this track is intentionally bad as in a parody or whether the band really takes this song serious. One thing is certain though: this interesting album has a quite infelicitous start. There are more tracks that sound confusing. The best example might is the album closer “Dans ma nuit” that includes too many weird changes of pace and style. As soon as the track’s atmosphere gets really intense, the band throws in an opposing new idea without any transitional effort. Every time there is a gripping depressive riff, the song has a sudden discordant breakdown. When I start appreciating a vocal approach, the singer suddenly starts to shriek randomly and senselessly. This indigestible style might fit to the nightmarish lyrics from an artistic point of view but the final result is once again quite repulsive. 

On the other side, some tracks are much more coherent and build up an amazing atmosphere. “Le diable existe” is probably the best song on the record. The story is cut into four epic parts. It all starts with some progressive sound elements that could come from a science-fiction movie. The discordant riff fits well in and the rhythm section adds a lot of drive to this rather unusual tune. As the song goes on, rhythm orientated parts that almost recall jazz elements, dystopian progressive metal riffs and a few upbeat black metal parts create a diversified maelstrom of darkness that always remains intense despite a length over nine minutes. Another highlight is the title song “La Chaise-Dyable” that gets more and more intense as time goes on. The dark bass guitar sounds, the highly diversified drum play, the gripping lyrics and emotional vocals, the melancholic guitar riffs and the nostalgic accordion sounds merge into one hypnotizing unity.

In the end, Peste Noire’s sixth full length release since its foundation fifteen years ago includes more positive elements than negative parts. The band’s experimental genre-breaking musical diversity, its folk-infused sounds and topics and its original song writing where traditions and modernity embrace are entertaining, profound and unique enough to pardon for a few weaker moments. Some songs that sound odd at first contact have some potential to grow but this doesn’t include the two negative examples stated above for me. To conclude, experimental black metal fans can’t get around this band in general and should mostly appreciate its latest album.

Final rating: 7.5/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Bandcamp: http://pestenoire.bandcamp.com/releases

Webshop: http://www.la6mesnie6herlequin6.bigcartel.com/ 

Mesdames et Messieurs,

Voici la suite de mon petit projet. Cette semaine, j'aimerais vous présenter le projet Adiemus dont je possède moi-même les deux premiers albums. Il a sorti son premier album en 1995. Après une longue pause de près de dix ans, le projet a été relancé en 2013 avec un tout nouvel sixième album, sans compter les compilations et les enregistrements en concert. Derrière le projet ambitieux se cache le compositeur gallois Karl Jenkins.

Le projet est inspiré par le nouvel-âge, la musique du monde et la musique classique. La musique celtique et le jazz sont également dominant sur certains albums. On peut notamment constater des influences de chants traditionnels africains, de la musique classique européenne et du tango latino-américain.

Le chant choral joue un grand rôle et devient lui-même un instrument. Les chorales chantent en une langue fictive qui se rapproche de plusieurs langues africaines et latines sur les quatre premiers albums. Plus tard, le projet a aussi exceptionnellement réinventé des chants classiques et ecclésiastiques en d'autres langues.

Le projet a connu un succès immédiat en 1995 avec la chanson "Adiemus" du pemier album qui a atteint la quatrième place au palmarès suisse, la sixième place au palmarès allemand et la septième place au palmarès autrichien. La chanson avait été composée pour une publicité de la compagnie aérienne américaine Delta Air Lines en 1994.

En 2000, l'artiste de musique électronique italien Mauro Picotto a collaboré avec le projet et réarrangé la pièce "Adiemus" dans sa chanson "Proximus". Cette nouvelle version a atteint la dix-huitième place au palmarès allemand, la dix-neuvième place au palmarès autrichien et la trente-deuxième place au palmarès suisse. 

Voici une sélection chronologique de mes pièces préférées du groupe:

"Adiemus" (1995)

"Cantus - Song of the Plains" (1997)

"Rain Dance" (1998)

"The Eternal Knot" (2001)

"Rondo" (2003)

"Canción Roja" (2013)

 Titre bonus: Mauro Picotto avec Adiemus - "Proximus" (2000)

 Je vous souhaite une bonne découverte et écoute!

Mesdames et Messieurs,

Voici la suite de mon petit projet. Cette semaine, j'aimerais vous présenter le projet Adiemus dont je possède moi-même les deux premiers albums. Il a sorti son premier album en 1995. Après une longue pause de près de dix ans, le projet a été relancé en 2013 avec un tout nouvel sixième album, sans compter les compilations et les enregistrements en concert. Derrière le projet ambitieux se cache le compositeur gallois Karl Jenkins.

Le projet est inspiré par le nouvel-âge, la musique du monde et la musique classique. La musique celtique et le jazz sont également dominant sur certains albums. On peut notamment constater des influences de chants traditionnels africains, de la musique classique européenne et du tango latino-américain.

Le chant choral joue un grand rôle et devient lui-même un instrument. Les chorales chantent en une langue fictive qui se rapproche de plusieurs langues africaines et latines sur les quatre premiers albums. Plus tard, le projet a aussi exceptionnellement réinventé des chants classiques et ecclésiastiques en d'autres langues.

Le projet a connu un succès immédiat en 1995 avec la chanson "Adiemus" du pemier album qui a atteint la quatrième place au palmarès suisse, la sixième place au palmarès allemand et la septième place au palmarès autrichien. La chanson avait été composée pour une publicité de la compagnie aérienne américaine Delta Air Lines en 1994.

En 2000, l'artiste de musique électronique italien Mauro Picotto a collaboré avec le projet et réarrangé la pièce "Adiemus" dans sa chanson "Proximus". Cette nouvelle version a atteint la dix-huitième place au palmarès allemand, la dix-neuvième place au palmarès autrichien et la trente-deuxième place au palmarès suisse. 

Voici une sélection chronologique de mes pièces préférées du groupe:

"Adiemus" (1995)

"Cantus - Song of the Plains" (1997)

"Rain Dance" (1998)

"The Eternal Knot" (2001)

"Rondo" (2003)

"Canción Roja" (2013)

 Titre bonus: Mauro Picotto avec Adiemus - "Proximus" (2000)

 Je vous souhaite une bonne découverte et écoute!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here comes my review of the latest record of Icelandic post-rock quartet Sólstafir.  I was able to see this atmospheric band live in concert in Ottawa last week. Enjoy my review and this unique kind of music. Please don't forget to leave a comment.

The four Icelandic cowboys deliver their fifth full length release which offers once more a slow-paced mixture of highly atmospheric post-rock and slow-paced neofolk with a slightly noisy vintage touch. The decent use of lethargic piano sounds, longing string sections and dreamy banjos add to the melancholic and unclean guitar riffs, the somber bass guitar and the oppressive drum patterns. The fascinating Icelandic lyrics somewhere between natural roughness and poetic beauty only add to the coherent concept that distinguishes this unique band from stylistically similar artists like Agalloch, Opeth and Ulver. The emotional vocals even remind me of completely different bands since Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand and Mando Diao come to my mind.

Sólstafir delivers a conceptual record based on an Icelandic system of time that starts and ends at midnight. The different tracks represent very well the eight segments of a day. The songs that portray nocturnal hours are epic, hypnotizing and lugubrious. The calm, lethargic and menacing opener “Lágnætti” has an almost nightmarish vintage feeling that sets the atmosphere for the entire release straight. The track features laid back passages carried by spiritual clean vocals, enchanting piano melodies and elegant violin sounds but also has a few scarier up-tempo parts with massive distorted guitar riffs, upbeat rhythm sections and nearly hysterical vocals. Our northern crepuscular rays keep the opener’s sophisticated level with the outstanding neofolk epic and worthy title track “Ótta” that starts with lethargic and uneasy melodies and slowly evolves towards a more liberating and noisier instrumental section with passionate screams that is accentuated by the cleaner banjo patterns and epic string sections. These two tracks are filled with existential yet usually contradicting emotions that fusion to a complex unity. There is sophisticated elegance in all the simplistic chaos, there is natural beauty in all the nightmarish ugliness and there are bright shades of light in all the drowning darkness.

The tunes that portray the hours between the early morning and noon are much shorter and to the point, more dynamical and straight and also catchier and more engaging. These tracks still have a dark and mysterious undertone but they are less gloomy and oppressing than the longer tunes. "Miðdegi" could qualify as a vivid alternative rock track in the key of The Strokes or The White Stripes for example and has radio potential.

By the end of the record, the band goes back to the more playful and somber tunes of the beginning in order to close the circle. "Nón" is a transitional track that features both numbing and relaxing breaks with minimalistic melodies as well as really fast and mean passages with an aggressive and vivid bass sound, energizing and almost chaotic drum patterns and above all quite fast and loud guitar riffs. 

The last two songs slow things down with eerie sound effects, melancholic piano melodies and epic string sections. The band still keeps a little surprise for us. “Náttmál” is a more introspective track that could have ended the album on a perfectly coherent note but the band chose instead to separate the track into two segments since the last three and a half clipped minutes of “Náttmál” lead to a rocking climax that is more rhythm orientated than the first two thirds of this epic album closer. The final moments of this album are a moving duel between progressive rock sounds with haunting keyboard passages on one side and alternative post-rock with noisy bass, roaring guitars and thunderous drums on the other side. This may not be the most coherent ending but it works extremely well as a final climax and fitting surprise for the listener. 

Despite the ambitious conceptual frame, the band manages to deliver a diversified, entertaining and inspired listening experience that is much more accessible than one could think at first contact. This record should please to fans of atmospheric post-rock but also experimental alternative rock while people who enjoy oppressing doom metal and introspective neofolk should also give this ambitious release a fair chance. The album might take a few spins to open up due its complex topic and length but it keeps getting more and more intense with each spin. Each time I listened to this album, I had another new favourite song depending on my personal mood. This is a sophisticated piece of art that drags you into a fascinating world of darkness, folklore and nature and represents Icelandic culture very well.

Final rating: nine out of ten points

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Bandcamp: http://solstafir.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/solstafirice

Homepage: http://www.solstafir.net/

Here is a live recording from the band's concert at the 2014 edition of Hellfest in Clisson, France:

Set list:

1.)     1.) Ljós í Stormi

2.)     2.) Svartir Sandar

3.)     3.) Ótta

4.)     4.) Pale Rider

5.)     5.) Fjara

 6.) Goddess of the Ages

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here are a few more impressions from the the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League finals between Impact de Montréal and Club América.

Getting started with the biggest soccer choreography ever done in Canada:

Start of the second half:

Celebrations after the game:

Awards and medals for Montreal Impact FC:

Awards and medals for CF América:

 Montreal's Olympic Stadium after the game:

Here are some official clips from the CONCACAF:

Match highlights:

Golden Ball: Dario Benedetto (Club América)

Golden Boot Award: Dario Benedetto & Oribe Peralta (Club América)

Golden Glove Award: Evan Bush (Impact de Montréal)

Best youth player (Bright Future Award): Martin Zuniga (Club América)

SSCL Fair Play Award: Club Pachuca