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There's Motörhead in French, it cannot be bad - 70%
Three years after their excellent tenth full-length Alpha X Omega, veteran French progressive death metallers of Misanthrope return with a so-called “ephemeral interlude”, this mini-album proposing three covers, a brand new song, and two re-recorded versions of old tracks; available as a limited edition CD and an even more limited 12’’ LP. That’s fine, but this means an elitist release, admittedly targeted at the long-time fan only: coming from a band regularly complaining about their lack of exposition, it sounds paradoxical.
Well, the Misanthrope chaps love to cultivate the paradox anyway. Like when they sing Motörhead in French, which may not even be paradox, but blasphemy. Or when they introduce Mylene Farmer on a metal album – another blasphemy! Still, when one actually listens to the songs, it could not have been otherwise. A hypothetic cover of Motörhead in a death metal fashion, complete with growled vocals, would have seemed like the obvious... much too obvious, in fact. Instead, the band chose to stick to the original, with S.A.S de l’Argilière pulling out a near-to-perfect Lemmy impersonation – yes, but a FRENCH Lemmy, which radically changes the physiognomy of the song, and that’s where the genius lies. And Mylène Farmer looks out-of-place only as long as one doesn’t remember de l’Argilière has repeated numerous times in the past he’s been a huge fan of the French variété/goth singer and her decadent aesthetics since the mid-80’s. This Désenchantée track, closing the album, is indeed a weird bag. The original was not a metal song, and the guys could not entirely turn it into one, no matter how many technical guitar solos and growls they added. But who cares, when it results in one of the most haunting moments they ever recorded.
The best of the covers, however, may well be Le Fléau de Dieu originally from ADX, a classic French heavy metal band, this song belonging to their debut album from 1985. Metal sounded quite different in those days... typical fast-paced old-school with high-pitched vocals. Misanthrope kept little from the original, apart from the lyrics and the main riff, in other words, the very minimum without which it would no longer be the same song. The pace was slowed down, the guitar solos extended, the bass lines integrally reworked – of course they added a solo, why do you even ask? – and, to nevertheless keep the old-school vibe, an ominous Hammond organ could be heard playing in the background, an instrument which was, paradoxically (once more!), absent from the ADX version. The voice is again the strongest selling point, however. In this department, absolutely nothing was left from the original. Forget 80’s ear-piercing screams, now it is the Fléau de Dieu Himself who’s shouting, in other words Attila the Hun, who La bave sur le fer / Du haut de son cheval / [Il] hurle sa jouissance (translation would ruin it, sorry). De l’Argilière did not actually bring his custom “harsh-exalted” style to its point of perfection on Alpha X Omega, no, it was on this very song. Oh, and you’ll hear some bits of his custom “crying” as well, fittingly, when it comes to mourning the populations slaughtered by the barbaric horde.
Three covers, then, alongside three “genuine” Misanthrope songs. Destruction Méthodique de la Terre is a leftover track from the Alpha X Omega sessions. A slightly upbeat number, it keeps the characteristic Alpha X Omega dark vibe, clear sound, good succession of riffs, a voice displaying its usual virtuoso diversity, from low growls to tortured cries and even clean spoken bits, so it should have anything to please; provided, precisely, it did not sound too much as a B-side which was not deemed original enough to be featured on the main album. Enjoyable, not unforgettable. The same could be said about the re-recorded version of Bâtisseur de Cathédrales, Misanthrope number one classic, the only song the band must have played in every single show since 1997, year of its creation (on the Visionnaire album). Anyone likely to buy this mini-album knows every bar of it. Not to say the “updated” version does not sound more powerful. A deeper sound, and musicians which are intrinsically better, technically-wise, than the 1997 line-up, even when it comes to its two surviving members – de l’Argilière especially, whose growls are getting stronger and stronger with time. But this was not enough to deserve a re-recording, considering the song itself is basically the same, and the 1997 version has aged well enough.
The situation was different with And Also the Lotus, an improbable cut from the equally improbable debut, Variation on Inductive Theories. If you, by any miracle, stumbled on that album, you know at that time the guys could neither write coherent songs, nor play their instruments, nor come with a proper production. It had its own unique charm, for sure; still, finally hearing 25 years later one of those pieces of unclassifiable avant-garde soup recorded in the shape of a real metal song was most welcome. Not a single bit death metal in spite of occasional growled vocals, but a unique brand of experimental heavy metal, with a memorable opening riff. Granted, the overall structure still does not make any sense, and so do the lyrics, even when translated into French (this is this very song about which de l’Argilière once admitted having “absolutely no idea of what it meant”), but now, not only is it listenable, it is also, well, loveable.
Misanthrope, for its 30th year of existence, is definitely back in full shape. So, instead of entertaining limited-edition compilations of covers, how about recording another genuine, serious album, now?
(The LP version adds Cantilena as a bonus track, which is an English-sung version of Une Cantilène pour Célimène from Alpha X Omega.)
Highlights: Sacrifice (Motörhead cover), Le Fléau de Dieu (ADX cover)
