Metal maniacs, rejoice! I am proud to present to you: BARABBAS; signed via Sleeping Church Records, hailing from French grounds - performing Doom/Stoner Metal, on their sophomoric album entitled: "La Mort Appelle Tous Les Vivants" (released December 9th, 2022). Since formation in 2007; the quintet in question have an EP entitled: "Libérez Barabbas!" (released February 1st, 2011), a demo entitled: "Messe pour un chien - Preprods" (released May 27th, 2014) & 2 full-length studio albums in their discography so far entitled: "Messe pour un chien" (released November 5th, 2014) on top of this here second record of which I am introduced to. 9 tracks ranging around 58:30; BARABBAS arrange an intricately designed formula on some heavy-hitting Doom/Stoner Metal amalgamations.

Opening up with this cryptic introductory track: "La mort appelle tous les vivants (Intro)"; where various soundscapes fabricate at a distinctive bludgeoning in symbolic mayhem, "Je suis mort depuis bien longtemps" monolithically piledrives speakers with rampantly rompy thuds & sturdy rhythms that swift with strident tonality. Some scouring snares snarl with melancholic momentum; showcasing an amplified heft in rumbling reverberation & seamless but grinding experimentation, flamboyantly executing a concretely gritty harmony that ramifies with this sulphurous volatility amongst a distilled element in implementing gnarly fuzziness in a doom-filled vibrancy that's potently striking. "Le saint riff rédempteur" surges with relentlessly riffing synergy that rivets through twinning saint shredders Saint Stéphane & Saint Thomas where this punchline tightness of meaty rhythmics bombards eardrums with towering distortion, and dexterously dynamic substance.

Manifesting this organic vehemence on prodigious rifts; a catchy distinction crafts a distinguished calamity on tempo driven grooviness and brutally ethereal firepower expertise, belting a clobbering foundation in euphonic density - killer slays rip with quintessential virtuosity whilst this thumpy malignancy supplies profusely robust stompiness from both Saint Alexandre on his audible bass which merges well with the smacking precision from hammering drummer Saint Jean-Christophe. "De la viande" impactfully demonstrates a foreboding but boisterously bouncy crunch embedded, forging a chunky brim of rich licks and technically prestigious flexibilities in fundamental crescendo building tremolo solidities that provide with euphonic furore amongst an ominously jarring but archaic archetype in instrumental majesty that's rollicking chuggy especially in "Le cimetière des rêves brisés".

Not to forget Saint Rodolphe's grunty cords and guttural but high-pitched vocalisations prowess; this throaty raspiness roars with unique singing attributes from clean to operatic yet most notable are his slabby, monstrous yells that fuses into a deathly haze of these 2 within the meticulous salubriousness of razor-sharp songwriting musicianship that's most masqueraded with maelstrom stability. Synthetically rambunctious; yet mostly just trembling with riveting stoner perseverance, nothing but a blistering barrage frenzy persistently quakes with ground-breaking impulses of doom-laden noise that will either keep heads nodding or just meditate towards the sublime intensities BARABBAS immersify with.

"Mon crâne est une crypte (Et j'y suis emmuré)" harbours more sanguine yet elegantly exquisite hymns of deadly entrance; compiling a firing all cylinder blaze that resounds with this mythical raze that's contrasted diabolically but with ritualistic pandemonium & raw vascularity of a buoyant but mellifluously upbeat kind of the most transitional flair in intriguing musical outré of transgressional panache within the tribulant skill BARABBAS shine at. A chiselling penultimate track "La valse funèbre" conjures up more epic forlorn in a cult following fantasy; capturing an enthralling repertoire of mountainous musical embrace and strong structures of frolicking gallops relished with allure binding blend. Overall concluding "La Mort Appelle Tous Les Vivants" with the finale epic closer of the outro titular track; where more obscure sounds of sacrilege intrudes heads with this grandeur grandiosity, I am compelled to say that BARABBAS most surely outdone themselves with this one.

The bottom line here is that you can definitely converge anything in the Metal universe should it be constructed rightly with & so the subgenres chosen here for that regard most lavishly justify themselves here, an enjoyably entertaining discovery should you fancy a healthy dose in an infectious injection of venomous Doom/Stoner Metal meticulation - do check it out.