TRÉPAS: Les Ombres Malades

Release year: 2023
Label: Sepulchral Productions

On their 2007 album F.O.A.D., Norwegian black metal legends Darkthrone had a song called Canadian Metal – a tribute to the 80’s metal classics of Canada, but also a sort of “up yours” to people who thought bands like Revenge and Conqueror put Canada on the metal map. Well, fast forward about 15 years, and it’s neither the 80’s bands nor the already mentioned purveyors of war metal who dominate the perception of what (extreme) metal from Canada is.

No, currently it’s Quebec that dominates – Quebec, and the primarily French-language black metal acts from the area, who’ve created a take on black metal that’s both distinct in sound and true to the traditions of the genre.

Trépas (whose name apparently means death) are a newer act within this scene. Les Ombres Malades (which, in turn, translates to Sickly Shadows – hence the title of this here text) is their second album, preceeded by 2019’s L’héritage Du Monde. The members, however, have earned their chops in other acts such as Outre-Tombe, which goes a long way in explaining the maturity of sound.

In a nutshell, Trépas fit snugly into the Quebecois sound and style. The base is a rather traditional take on 90’s black metal replete with buzzsawing, tremolo-picking riffs and speedy tempos. This is augmented with melancholic yet sinister melodies. The result is a balanced mixture of rawness and atmosphere. Within the context of the Quebec scene, Trépas perhaps lean slightly towards the more atmopsheric pole of the atmosphere-rawness axis, but not so far as to reach any tipping point.

Partially it is of course the language Trépas use – French – but I cannot help but hear certain parallells with Seth, one of the pioneers of French black metal. Especially their earlier material such as the EP By Fire, Power Shall Be… and the debut album Les Blessures De L’âme. The mixture of forlorn yet majestic atmospheres and ripping rawness is similar, although where Seth utilized synths even quite heavily at times, Trépas stick to the occasional passage of acoustic guitars.

Les Ombres Malades is another fine example of why the Quebec scene has made a name for itself – if you needed another reason. It takes the foundation of 90’s Scandinavian black metal, and injects some extra melodic atmospherics into it. The result is something that may not be the apex of originality… but is of a notably good quality.

In a nutshell, whether your preferences in black metal lean more towards the melodic and atmospheric, or the abrasive and raw, there’s a good chance Les Ombres Malades will appeal to you. It manages to exist in an in-between of these two poles, but without resorting to some kind of compromise or neither-here-nor-there watering down.

Visit Trépas on Bandcamp or Facebook