Band:	Asmodee
Album:	Simulacres
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2004
A review by:	Jeff

01. Void World
02. Le Faucheur D'Âmes
03. Simulacres
04. Red Sky Rises
05. Ether
06. Vargtimmen
07. Mausoleum
08. Le Poids Des Cendres
09. No Aim
10. Sacrifice

Asmodée is a young French band of Black Metal. They release nowadays through the French label Sacral Production their first album, two years after their very good LP "Symptomes De Ruine". Asmodée has the quality to be not really common; some people even class them into the family of the avant-gardist Black Metal bands. I discovered them with this new album "Simulacres" and for sure their music is a bit disturbing, but also very good and promising for the future of the band.

The first thing that I could say when I listen to this album is that it's really not easy of access. I don't know if it come from the music, the vocals or anything else, but the musical structure of each songs is really complex and well, it was a bit hard for me, to be caught by their songs. I think in fact, that it comes from the voice of the singer, which is really aggressive, very particular, maybe good, maybe not I don't know but weird for my ears for sure. Because musically I really like all the music with progressive touch and this is the case with Asmodée. All the tracks are really complex with riffs which can be really technical but always very particular and special really. When you'll hear this album, even if it sounds like real Black Metal, you'll see that's different, and well originality that's just great for me.
All the tracks are really aggressive really dark and the very grimy atmosphere that the band can gives is really impressive. This is this kind of album which can gives you this strange feeling, you know the one when you're really ill at ease. However this album is really powerful in general and the songs are just some good old musical blasts. We are near of Death Metal in some aspects of the music sometime., this is not something slow and doomy, no but however in its own style this is just really disturbing.
The lyrics of this album and that's also a good point I think, come for some of its from their singer, but also writers like Lord Byron, J.J.Rabearivelo or the Swedish Arthur Lundkvist. This is not new, some bands did it before but well sometime I really think that is a good thing to use beautiful and touching texts from some authors.
The production of the cd is not the best thing of the album unfortunately. This is not bad, but sometime I just find that the work on the mixing is not perfect. Well it's a first album I suppose that it will be better in the future.

This album is really disturbing, really this production is interesting due to its great originality. I really recommend it to all the ones who want a new form of Black Metal. Nothing electronic or with some effects no, just pure Black Metal, but an original one. Another time a new Black Metal band from France shows us that this musical style is more than important in this country and of good quality. That's great really?