Par le sang versé

To preface this review, I had no prior knowledge of this band and was not recommended to it by anyone, it came upon my own stumbling on Bandcamp. I saw the album cover artwork and the French name of the band and was immediately reminded of the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, which depict some of the most beautiful illustrations of life and history from hundreds of years ago. I thought I would take a gander at this project, and while I did expect some form of 'medieval' black metal, I was in no way expecting this to be one of the greatest masterpieces I have heard in quite a while. This album is very special, and while it is very difficult to try to describe music to someone through text, I will give it my all to tell you everything I can to convince you to check Par le Sang Versé out.

First off, the vocals are a mixture of everything I love about the broadness of black metal. I believe there is one vocalist named Hyvermor in the record according to online sources, but this guy manages to evoke the voices of some of the very best. By that, I mean there are times where his voice is similar to the gritty shouts of Thurios from Drudkh to the screams of Austin from Panopticon to the lower growls of Nathan from Wolves in the Throne Room. There are also incredible folk elements to many of the songs that include whispers and monologues as well as a backed chorus echoing the vocalist's screams. The chorus is an enchanting success in fusing folk metal with black metal, and its moments especially heard in L'Étrange Clairière : Partie II that are some of my favorite. There's also a part in La Dernière Chevauchée with these dramatic keyboard trumpets, a militant drum pounding in the background, and the chorus behind the vocalist as he shouts declarations of some sort that could be envisioned as the rallying cries of a militia before war. I also hear an impressive entanglement of moments where the vocals lead the guitars and vice versa; it is so obvious that the members of this band were trying to make something that was engaging and exciting to remember.

The guitars are also out of this world. They are incredibly melodic and geared to be eclectic and memorable. Frankly, the riffs are all so catchy I can't think of one that seems off from the rest. In terms of inspiration, I definitely hear Agalloch and Dissection, the two of which are near impossible to get close to by most, but this band manages to play as equals to those two. That alone is impressive. The guitars synchronize beautifully, and while elegant, are easily capable of taking your breath away like a cannon slamming your chest. There is a 2-minute acoustic solo accompanied by a flute and chirping birds towards the end of the album, and you can't help but imagine a lone traveler journeying through the French forestry to better or worse. I can't emphasize how much the ambiance and riff-work are capable of teleporting you to another time and place far from where you stand now back into the Middle Ages, a time of great uncertainty and war with moments of peace that were long needed and long cherished.

I am so thankful to the drums for not getting in the way as well, in addition to the ambient noises. The drums are excellent throughout the whole album, they have moments of absolute pummeling and fast blast beats as well as what can only be described as a sort of marching rhythms. Just like the drummer boys of past battlefields, the percussion directs the songs in directions you cannot ever expect; yes, it's melodic, but that doesn't mean you can anticipate the songs by any means. The ambiance does use a lot of artificial sounds but sparingly in the sense that each second is not chock full of sounds of nature or sword fighting but is used when it can add to the music. The third song called L'Étrange Clairière : Partie I, however, is an impressive display of what one can do with those sounds; this project somehow manages to use a select few sounds of a sword unsheathing and coins jingling from a pouch while accompanied by an incredible flute in creating a sort of physical theatre of rhythm. If you have ever heard or seen Stomp on Broadway, this is the black metal version of Stomp.

I think what stands out also from the band is that they don't try to sound 'evil' so much as they are trying to convey a time in history that was important to them and to Europe, emphasizing that the Middle Ages, while hundreds of years ago, still play a role in how French society and history is being shaped even today. Having listened to Par le Sang Versé about half a dozen times now, I can firmly say that I have no favorites, this is one of those records that are best heard in its entirety. While most of us in the underground probably listen to albums in their entirety anyway on vinyl, I feel even leaving the room during one of the songs takes away from the whole album. Each song is an important sort of dialogue to the next song and so skipping any of them would be the equivalent of skipping an entire page of a cooking recipe. Altogether, this album is something I rarely hear in the underground today but I think it is these sorts of albums that keep us anticipating and continuing to listen to black metal even after nearly thirty years. Véhémence has probably created one of the most creative displays of art that I have heard in a very long time, and I see absolutely no wrong in the making of this record. I hope to see this album out on vinyl soon and I hope to see more people talking about this project.