Band:	Seth
Album:	Era-Decay
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2004
A review by:	Jeff

01. Marchemergence
02. March Of The Consistory
03. Umbilical Cutting
04. Co-Existent Species
05. Ascension
06. H-Eradicate
07. Xtasian Ostix
08. A Pallbearer's Gloom
09. The Blade Upon Mankind

Seth is a very famous Black Metal band in France. Very respected, they play their music since 9 years now. Very powerful, the music of the band is also without any doubts one of the most original and complex of the French Black Metal scene. One years after the release of their last album, Nastivity, they are back through the great Italian label Avantgarde Music, with their 5th album, "Era-Decay".

"Era-Decay", is a special album? In general when we talk about Black Metal we can't always talk about originality. Of course some Black Metal bands know how to add originality in their songs, but unfortunately that's not the case of a lot of them? But with Seth, that's different, [and it's certainly the reason which gave them the luck to sign with Avantgarde, well know label for its avant-gardist bands] and that's really easy to feel that this band is not common.
At the first listening of "Era-Decay", I understood that it will be for me a real pleasure to do the review of this album and of course to listen to it. Because we don't have a classic Black Metal which can be boring with time, but something modern very powerful and aggressive of course but also epic and melodic. And well in my opinion that this kind of music which can catch the listeners. Don't believe that this album is easy of access or even commercial, at the opposite, with "Era-Decay" you'll have something complex, futurist even atmospheric for some aspects of the music. All the songs of the album are complex and all are also catchy, but "Era-Decay" is this kind of album which needs a lot of time of listening if you really want to catch all the aspects and all the parts of the music. Yeah that's not really easy of access, but is it a problem ? Not really because the music is more than well written, and that's same for the lyrics and at least that's original. Like a numerous bands of Avantgarde Music, you could find in the album some electronics sounds, for a break an intro something like that, and really it's well done, because you will have this kind of sounds only when the song need it? This is not too much? Plus sometime we are near of Death Metal and the numerous technical guitars solo give another great status to the music of the band.
With all that, the general ambiance of the album, is just perfect and magnificent, that's really hard to find an album which can give this strange, bad and uncomfortable feeling. Really guys bravo for that?
The production [that's an habit with the bands of this label] is perfect, the cover is very good, the booklet excellent, and the sound of the cd is also perfect. All is well mixed, and it's impossible to lose one of the numerous ambient sounds of the cd, like it's impossible to have any difficulties to listen to the music of the band.
At the end it's hard for me to find something wrong with this album, without any doubt the French combo just did their best release ever.

If you're a fan of Black Metal, if you want something new, "Era-Decay" is a must have. That's hard to find something more original, something which really deserve to be in the top of the Black Metal releases of the year. I recommend it to all of you, if you want an original Black Metal, "Era-Decay" is a must have.