Release date: November 22nd, 2011
Type: Full-length
Label: Sepulchral Productions
Country: Canada
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
-written by todesengel89 by metal-archives.com
My impression of Canadian black metal has always been in the form of war metal in the veins of bands like Blasphemy and Conqueror, with little attention paid to bands that play other forms of black metal in the country. On first look at the album artwork, it was hard to decide what category Fortresse would fall into. Crepuscule d'Octobre is my first encounter with the band and I have to say I was pretty surprised listening to the album for the first time.
While the album artwork gives the imagery of summer sunshine and the harvesting season, once the album begins, any such impressions are lost as what is presented musically is cold and atmospheric black metal with no attempt to provide any warmth to listeners whatsoever. Album opener Silence d'octobre emits an almost depressive feel, with melodies that remind listeners closing tracks of recent Satanic Warmaster albums (such as Utug Hul, minus the vocals). But once the intro ends, and the album begins proper, the listener is thrown into an epic journey. The slightly raw production of the album provides the music with a huge soundscape, with the epic guitar sounds and the vocals that fade in and out with ease, never sounding too intrusive or too abrasive. The drums and guitars are also tuned in such a way that they sound slightly distant from the listener, and this is done in good taste as well.
The music on the album also displays how it is not the band's intention to come up with technical songs, reinvent nor push boundaries of the genre, as most of the songs feature riffs that are repeated throughout, and are often in the 9 minute range. It almost feels as if the whole idea of the record is to drown the listener in the large atmosphere, and the only way to enjoy the record is to throw everything on one's mind aside and fully indulge in the epic musical journey. The atmospheric element on the music easily reminds listeners of bands like Old Wainds, or a more epic version of Finnish bands like Satanic Warmaster. That said though, the members also sufficiently display their talents throughout, such as drummer Fiel who, like their more aggressive black metal counterparts, pounds relentlessly on the drums and never fails to keep the pace of the band in check.
The band also incorporates a number of unique elements, with folk-sounding introductions on some of the tracks (like La lame du passé) before giving way to their usual black metal style, and these help to provide refreshing moments, especially for listeners that get easily bored through the repetitive riffs (though this should have put them off by the third track on the album). Various spoken samples and spoken vocals are also littered throughout the album to help to bring out the emotional aspects of the album, and these are done well too. For example, on Le triomphe des douze, vocalist Athros speaks in a heroic-sounding voice, adding in certain folk metal elements into the music at the same time.
The lyrics on the album are all written in French though, so people who don't know French will not be able to appreciate the lyrics, though this does little to reduce the enjoyment of the album personally. The lyrical themes of Quebec nationalism would be interesting to history buffs though, with stories about the history being narrated in the form of black metal by the band.
Generally, Crépuscule d'Octobre is certainly not an album for everyone, especially for people who like their black metal more aggressive and straight in the face. However, this album would definitely be a good companion for those seeking to have a somewhat more soothing journey, yet looking for music that remains in the black metal genre at the same time.
(http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/)
70/100
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