Par le sang versé

I personally have always enjoyed the idea of epic/medieval black metal bands. Yet for quite a bit I had no one to really point the finger too and say "These guys are the peak." Then out of nowhere I was recommended this album by a friend shortly after it came out in 2019 and my god I was blown away.

Véhémence manages to combine victorious and triumphant melodies into almost everything they do. Especially the riffs and guitar work as a whole, each riff is blisteringly fast yet still focuses heavily on its melody. Which in turn helps create a thick grand atmosphere. With the acoustic guitar and various other medieval folk instruments such as the flute solidifying and strengthening the atmosphere even more. I also really enjoy the moments when these instruments get their own entire sections dedicated to them. They are nice pace breakers for the album without the need of sacrificing its atmosphere.

The drums and bass aren't far behind though easily keeping up the pace of the album while providing a strong base for everything to bounce off of. The drums though in some ways may even surpass the already amazing guitar work. Switching from insanely fast, firing on all cylinders speed to anthemic war drumming. It never stays as one pattern constantly changing with the song changing around it. And the vocals follow suite constantly spicing itself up to keep the listener on their feet. He has the typical black metal scream mixed with howls, growls, raspy cleans, and straightforward cleans. Which over its near hour run time as an album is much appreciated.

With all this being said I feel this album is a modern classic in not only medieval black metal but black metal as a whole. And though you could argue it feels cheesy in some areas. It would be disingenuous to say this album is derivative in any way to its forefathers. Par le sang versé is a beast in its own right that advances the genre rather than sitting on tired tropes.