From Bandcamp, “Formed in 1995, the French Death Metal band released their first demo “From depths,” and their first LP, “Black dreams of silence.” They are back now with their latest release titled “Facing the End” via Circle Music.” The album has ten songs, and “Smells like the end of the world” is first. The opening tones have a nice dose of keyboards to go along with the sturdy riffs and harsh vocals, and there are weighted meter shifts along the way as well, accenting the aggressiveness of the music. “All is Empty” has a darker sound, marked with meaty bass notes and a brutal riff. The trade-off of both clean and harsh vocals helps to propel the sound forward. Many bands in this genre are solid and the “Death” side of the genre, and not the “Melodic” side, but this band is good at both.

“It wasn’t so complicated” has more of those lush keyboards, and it’s clear that the band is using every instrument available on this album. They vary their technique as well, and the chorus is quite catchy. “Plague doctor” has another lush, rich chorus, and the band doesn’t tip toe around melody, although the base structure of the song is contentious. It’s this combination that most fans have gotten used to, and it’s done very well. “Just behind” has yet another aggressive riff that is equaled by the shining cleans in the chorus, and I am really connecting with the melodies so far. “Swallow my lies” has a sturdy structure at the bottom but the top half reaches into the sky, and I love the reference to asshole Trump in the video. Bravo guys.  “Taste my hate” uses a high dose of melody out of the gate, but you can feel the level of hate here as well. The heavy end of the song is punishing, but the harmonized cleans in the chorus temper that well.

“From depths” closes the album, and it has thick and nifty bass work to go along with the contentious sound. As it fades out at the end, it reminds me of how excellent the album really was. Amazingly, this French band formed at around the same time as the Big Four of Melodeath in Sweden did. After so many years, one might expect a re-hash of old formulas, but the way they inject rich doses of melody into their music is key to sounding fresh. This is one that you won’t want to miss.