Now this is one curious band… These guys hail from the decidedly unkvlt Japan and, realizing this, they have set out on an ambitious course of action intended to ensure they score some much-needed kvlt points. First they cooked up a silly band name that sounds like some strange snow-borne virus that breeds in the arctic. Second, they did what any band desperately seeking kvltness would do: they named that most grim of places, France, as their home country. Not just that, but also an exact address that I can only imagine must have been the location of the supposed Les Legions Noires castle. Hey, castles are very grim. Finally, they started to use the LLN “dialect” (with permission from Vordb Dreagvor Uezeerb of course…). Ladies and gentlemen, the 3-step guide to Trve Kvltness.

Based on these facts the actual music could turn out to be either Black Metal genius or the worst joke imaginable. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Musically this is solid Black Metal that borrows heavily from the fuzzed-out misery of BELKETRE, but with a slightly more melodic guitar layering. This is great except for the vocals which are, quite frankly, horrifying. And I mean that in a bad way, for once. For the most part the vocals follow a slightly growly BM approach but every so often they let loose with these extremely high-pitched yelps that completely fucks up the band’s admittedly solid sound. Imagine a cross between King Diamond and everybody’s favorite nutjob, Nattramn, but instead of sounding spooky (see former) or agonized (see latter), they come off as the sound of a highly inebriated bloke trying to warm up his throat by imitating Tarja Turunen. Yikes. It just sounds so stupid but also so damn funny that you can’t help but love it. 

If you are able to get past these occasional vocal indiscretions then you’ll find a quality Black Metal album that is rich in both melody and the requisite iciness. Tracks like “Down In Blaze And Pain” and “The Malicious Eye” are real stand-outs where the band captured just right the guitar tone and melodic nuances that they sound like sprawling (don’t forget cold) mini-epics, despite the relative elementary nature of the album as a whole. The riffs are icy and lush in a way, also see BEHEXEN who are masters of this, and when the vocals are straightforward this album is a very strong piece of work that smacks of the best elements of both the LLN sound as well as that of Finnish bands like the aforementioned BEHEXEN and HORNA, two of the best BM bands around in my humble opinion. I suppose fans of suicide music like SILENCER and SHINING will also find something of worth in this album. God, how many great bands have I already name-checked in this review? I guess it says something about the music, which is quite something considering they come from the far East, despite the band’s best efforts to convince us otherwise.

Slightly flawed but also remarkably potent for the better part of 50 minutes. 

(Online September 1, 2007)