ALBUM REVIEW: Banlieue Triste – Hangman’s Chair
Created in 2005, Parisian doomsters HANGMAN’S CHAIR have moved from strength to strength over the years. This strength is strikingly apparent in their newest release, Banlieue Triste. Translated as ‘Sad Suburbs’, this ten-song full-length album is a heart wrenching representation of urban living and the trials and tribulations that come with life.
Moving away from the more stereotypical doom sounds found in earlier releases, Banlieue Triste is a gritty, raw experience that really shows off the progress the group has made over the last three years since their last release, This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive. This progression makes sense, when considering the troubles the group have experienced over those three years, but for all of the pain and heartbreak, they have transformed the three-year experience into an emotionally charged, cathartic creation, which sees the band collaborating with two outstanding musicians; synthwave master PERTURBATOR, and guitarist Marc de Backer (WOLVENNEST).
Banlieue Triste opens with its title track; a binaural explosion of reverb sets the tone for the album as one of intense emotion, before jumping straight into Naïve, a sludge infused track that really showcases frontman Cédric Toufouti’s impressive vocal range. The breakdowns are heavy and the lyrics are powerful, with every song holding a theme close to the bands heart. For Naïve this theme is the difficult process of quitting drugs and other vices, but each track has a different personal struggle for the listener to follow.
Sleep Juice seems to drag on for a few seconds before suddenly changing time signature, which is fitting for the topic of insomnia that it addresses. This sudden change in time jolts the song into a different direction, gradually rolling into a seductively robust chorus, surrounded by haunting guitar courtesy of Julien Chanut. Touch The Razor is a hefty track, coming in at just over eleven minutes, but at no point does it feel too long. Like many of the tracks on Banlieue Triste, Touch The Razor starts slow and atmospheric, and gradually builds into an accurate musical representation of the lyrical themes. It’s easy to get swept into the atmosphere of this track, but each chorus brings you back with its enormous vocals.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR manage to transition flawlessly into an instrumental with Tara, which is dedicated to guitarist Chanut’s young daughter. This instrumental takes a different approach to the earlier instrumental piece, composed of synthetic elements that add a distinctly synthwave edge to the gritty doom undertones. Tara is refreshing and uplifting, like a breath of fresh air away from the Parisian smog and creates a perfect break between all the grief inducing tracks surrounding it.
The respite doesn’t last long, however, before falling head first into 04/09/16; the track dedicated to the drug overdose of one of the band members. Of all the tracks on this album, 04/09/16 was the first to be completed, with the lyrics reflecting this. Cédric Toufouti’s vocals on this track are shaky, but not in a negative way. It’s clear from the entire album that the three-year span of life experience that they have endured has become a tragically beautiful musical inspiration and is relived in the shakier vocals of 04/09/16.
Both Tired Eyes and Negative Male Child have a ballad-like sound to them, with the exception being that Negative Male Child, like the earlier track Tara, is like a breath of fresh air but with an undertone of desperation. However, frontman Toufouti’s vocal range really comes to the fore in this track as the soft vocals give space to appreciate the lyrics and the explicit emotion being elicited in the preceding tracks. Tired Eyes features the synthwave skills of James Kent of PERTURBATOR fame, and contains a lot of 80s influence throughout, adding another flawless layer to the album.
The highlight of this album is Sidi Bel Abbes – a heart breaking tribute to late band member Sid-Ahmed Azzouni. Featuring the beautiful guitar work of WOLVENNEST’s Marc de Backer, this track plays on Arabian musical influences and is a beautiful dedication to the band member that is consistently referenced in HANGMAN’S CHAIR’s music videos and album artwork. Sidi Bel Abbes is the standout track of Banlieue Triste, and really brings to light the progress the group have made in the last three years both emotionally and musically, and their ability to combine multiple influences to create something meaningful.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR finish strong with Full Ashtray, starting heavy and dissonant and ending up at the musical equivalent of watching the sunset with a cigarette at the end of a long, difficult day. It’s a song that feels relieving and is the perfect way to end an album that leaves you feeling like you’ve been through the emotional journey the group have had to go through themselves. However, Banlieue Triste doesn’t finish there. Full Ashtray crescendos into heavy, distorted riffs once again, and ends with an atmospheric, French spoken piece for the last four minutes. This sudden change appears to be a reminder that although this album was a new direction for the group, they don’t plan on disappearing into the distance; Full Ashtray leaves a lasting impression on the listener.
Banlieue Triste is a confident, cathartic album that takes everyone involved on the emotional journey that HANGMAN’S CHAIR set out to create. The album does this with a variable selection of tracks that all have a powerful message, and really showcases the unique twist of their doom roots. Banlieue Triste is THE album for this Paris dwelling band, and is evidence that they are ready to put themselves out there and show the rest of Europe and beyond what they’re capable of. It’s impossible not to feel the emotions and relate to the pain of the band members when listening, which is a skill that we hope to see on further releases in the future.
Rating: 8/10
Banlieue Triste is out now via Spinefarm Records.
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