Seth - _Les Blessures de l'Ame_
(Season of Mist, 1998)
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10)
France has, over the years, very justly become notoriously famed for the plethoric amount of "uber-black metal" bands it has bestowed upon the extreme scene, such as Mutiilation, Belketre, Osculum Infame and many others. It seems though the tides are finally turning under the influence of bands such as Anaon and now Seth, who have chosen to replace the very common "untrendier-than-thou" attitude by musical proficiency and inspiration. The twin guitar attack on _LBdl'A_ is varied, very melodic, yet eerie and mean, and is backed up by efficient, inspired drumming; the vocals are grating, harsh screams that are often layered to great effect, and mixed well enough to sound aggressive whilst not being overtly brutal or excessively baleful, a la Marduk. Unusually, they are sung in French, which, considering the uninteresting phonetics of this language, turns out very convincing. Finely-woven keyboards add the finishing touches to this very convincing symphony, which literally oozes with enrapturing blackness; strangely, though, the sweet keyboard melodies sadly sometimes do collide with Seth's evil atmospheres. This said, _LBdl'A_ is one of the most convincing French black metal albums to have been released this year, and possibly even the best black metal album ever to have graced the shores of France.
(article published 16/1/1999)
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