ALBUM REVIEW: La Morsure du Christ – Seth

The French black metal scene a couple of decades ago was often been overlooked, fans of the genre often favouriting Scandinavian bands. What they were missing though was a selection of superb offerings, one of those being SETH. Their debut album Les Blessures de L’âme over 20 years ago led them to become a pioneering band within France’s black metal scene. Thankfully the attitude towards the bleak genre and where it originates from has changed in recent years and countries such as France who push out some of the finest quality of bands are now gaining the attention that is greatly deserved. Even with the masses of exceptional artists, SETH are set to prove once again with their new album, La Morsure du Christ, why they are considered one of the greats.

La Morsure du Christ is noted as an album that revisits their original sound from the ’90s. There is no stone left unturned, from using their native tongue to incorporating absolute blasphemy on the album cover. Notre-Dame de Paris left the religious world in fear two years ago when the iconic cathedral went up into a blazing inferno, France came to a standstill because all they could do was watch it burn. SETH understood that this meant we are coming closer to a Godless world, a symbolism of the end of his reign, thus leading them to using a depiction of the event as the artwork.

The ideology that, especially the western world, is becoming closer to being without God follows through in their lyrical content. Whilst to non-French speaking listeners, we may not be able to understand exactly what vocalist Saint Vincent is saying, the venom in his vocals is enough to get the message across. There is no moment on the album where it doesn’t feel as though pure hatred for Christian reign is not being echoed, every word is spat out in a way that forces your attention to the topic at hand.

Aforementioned, the album sees the band go back to their original sound that put them on the pioneering platform. SETH have always delivered when writing material, but nothing ever felt quite as thrilling as their debut, that is, until now. There are moments on the album where you can envision just the reaction they would have got in the 90s scene, creating sounds ahead of their time.

Tracks such as Sacrifice de Sang and Les Océans du Vide being prominent in noticing the similarity in dynamics. Where it really becomes something special is Hymne au Vampire (Acte III). The previous two acts featured on their debut album, and are considered to be iconic works of art. What is really pressing here is that it feels as though there has been no lengthy time period between the three acts, even with a mostly new line-up, it has just been picked back up right where it left off. The excitement here is probably as close as the emotion first listeners of SETH felt, they got to experience the real depths of a genre that was often viewed as restricted with sound and style.

La Morsure du Christ manages to create an atmosphere that makes you feel liberated, but at the same time, trapped in torment. The album is so violent in sound, and creates a great deal of overwhelming exhilaration that causes it to be an intense listen. SETH have not only managed to bind their classic characteristics with a modern approach, but they have also put everything they stand for out on display for the first time in a long time. This is a thrilling time for France’s black metal scene, but yet again, this band continue to pave the way for all that follow.

Rating: 8/10

La Morsure du Christ is set for release May 7th via Season of Mist.

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