Seth - La France des Maudits

Angry Metal Guy

Ever since they blazed back onto the scene with 2021’s La Morsure du Christ, Seth have been the picture of a perfect comeback. This break from their second long hiatus, a shaken-up lineup in tow, brought many eyes and ears back to a band whose influence on the French black metal genre cannot be understated. The album ranked highly across the board, not least here at AMG HQ, striking Holdeneye as “an amazing black metal album that simultaneously captures the genre’s beauty and ugliness,” and ending up on several year-end lists. La France des Maudits, therefore, has a tough act to follow. But have no fear. The fires of Notre Dame may be long-extinguished, but out of their ashes rises the revolutionary force of the downtrodden and damned of Paris. And their song burns just as ardently as that of La Morsure du Christ. In fact, in its zealous spirit of solidarity, it even surpasses the magnitude of that younger, more violent inferno. This is a call to arms, following naturally and inevitably from its predecessor, and it might be the best black metal I’ve heard all year.

La France des Maudits is immediately, inarguably Seth. Brazen, jangling tremolo riffing, narrated by now recognizable biting rasps and snarls, a fondness for just a little theatre by way of string synths and chorals. But rather than revel in the glory of La Morsure’s ire, Seth already show their willingness to evolve. Tempering their vitriolic barrages of blastbeats, blistering second-wave riffing and mean-spirited grit with heavier doses of minor melody, the band weave poignant, even melancholic, themes through enhanced atmospheres and dynamic, fluid rhythms to create layered, affective compositions that hold on to a heavy dose of that characteristic righteous fury. Vocals cover a notably wider range that as often gasps and shrieks with anguish as it does roar with anger. Spanning a breadth of powerfully affective emotionality from rage (“Paris des Maléfices”) to wistful lament (the beautiful, indisposable interlude “Marianne”), and insubordinate pride (“Et que Vive le Diable !”), this album’s greater depth of feeling is its greatest strength.

La France des Maudits by Seth

Revolution is the soul of this story, and Seth interpret it through the lens of rebellion against theocratic order that manifests in Satanic defiance—a link going back at least to Milton’s Paradise Lost. But one-dimensional blasphemy this is not. With cascading ripples of warm and resonant guitar, songs make us feel the sorrow and pain of the forgotten, the damned (maudits), sometimes with echoing introspection (“La Destruction des Reliques”), sometimes with ballad-like pathos (“Dans le Coeur un Poignard”), sometimes with restless key-changes (“Paris des Malèfices”) or anticipatory scale climbs (“Le Vin du Condamnè”). Always, however, do songs rise and fall with cinematic dynamism. Thus, when passion peaks, it’s that much more powerful (“Dans le Coeur…” “Insurrection”). Invested, the listener is swept up in the vehement rallying cry Seth raise. Repeating refrains allied with compelling minor melodies and strengthened by many voices shouting as one turn songs into anthems of solidarity that burn with fierce determination. “Signe de ton sang”—sign in your blood—goes “Et que Vive le Diable !”‘ alongside climbing scales, and you think you just might. But it’s the recurring, decidedly stirring “Plus jamais à genoux”—never again on your knees—that characterizes “Insurrection” which becomes the album’s defining, greatest chant of freedom. And that latter song contains the undeniable highlight and climax of it all in the dramatic half-spoken-word hymn that feels like Seth’s answer to the infamous litany that closes Behemoth’s “O Father, O Satan, O Sun,” as it builds to a breathtaking catharsis of group screams and urgent, swooping melodic black metal.

It’s downright impressive how rich and dynamic this sounds too. Again, since La Morsure also sounded fantastic. The keys and chorals aren’t throwaway additions, they expand and deepen the aura of already dynamic, beautifully, and refreshingly clear soundscape. In fact, nothing is a throwaway addition; this is a brilliantly paced and balanced album. My only minor note is that of structure. The epic conclusiveness of “Insurrection” would make it a natural endpoint, and I would therefore just swap it around with “Le Vin du Condamnè,” the actual closer. That’s a real nitpick, though, as it certainly doesn’t stop me from spinning the thing back-to-back all afternoon, reveling in the dramatic highs and melancholic lows of the people’s revolution.

Seth whipped listeners strictly to attention just as they whipped up the proverbial fires of vengeance with La Morsure du Christ. La France des Maudits proves unequivocally that it was no flash in the pan. Experience for yourself the phoenix-like rise in all its vitriolic, pathos-soaked glory, and join the revolution. “Tous, Marchons sur le monde !”

Rating: Great
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Season of Mist Records
Websites: Official Site | Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 14th, 2024

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