Year: 2025
Label: Altare Productions/Purity Through Fire
We’ve come a long way from the inception of black metal, from the days when a one-sided satanic outlook was an absolute necessity for the genre. I don’t think an album inspired by the works of an Irish saint, St. Brendan, also known as Brendan the Navigator, would have found much welcome in the early 90’s.
But that is just what French one man act Prieuré (which translates to priory) offer on their newest album. Of course, there are plenty of more esoteric aspects to Brendan’s story: he was reputed to have found Tir Na Nóg, the mythical isles of the blessed of Celtic mythology. So it’s not that far flung to draw inspiration from his story. Just what approach Prieuré take to the topic matter is, however, a mystery to me. The lyrics are in French, a language I don’t speak.
Musically, Jusqu’au Bénitier is considerably less postmodern. It clearly roots itself in some very classical black metal territory. And whilst it isn’t entirely satisfied to remain there, there’s nothing on here to alienate fans of more traditional black metal.
This means there’s no shortage of sawing guitars with jagged edges and a raw sound. The vocals are a violent shriek, and whilst Prieuré don’t go all in on the blast beats, there’s certainly enough of fast tempos here to keep anyone satisfied.
At the same time, Prieuré and sole member Sans-Visage weave in subtle hints of punk into the music, not at all in a dissimilar manner as one has come to expect from French bands ever since acts like Peste Noire helped define a new generation of French black metal. But with a lot more afterthought than some proponents of the style.
The combination is an extremely appealing one. On one hand, uncompromisingly raw and abrasive, reaching back all the way to Burzum’s frayed guitar (check out the beginning of Vautour); on the other, very atmospheric, melodic and evocative.
À Travers La Foret embodies both sides of Jusqu’au Bénitier perfectly. Classic, raw black metal riffs alternate with beautiful acoustic guitars, and Sans-Visage’s raw shrieks and gruff punk style pseudo-clean vocals with atmospheric choral style vocals. It is this very interplay between the raw and the rough, and the beautiful and the atmospheric which gives the album it’s appeal.
And it is beautiful that is the keyword for me on this album. Even at its rawest, Jusqu’au Bénitier retains an essential trace of beauty and almost a sense of awe before the mythical mysteries of a medieval world and mindset, when the world was still replete with inexplicable wonders to discover.
I wax a bit poetical, but the bottom line is pretty simple. Prieuré have with their second album crafted a fine piece of genuine black metal art. It’s raw, it’s uncompromising, it’s abrasive. But it’s also beautiful, introspective and atmospheric. The even simpler bottom line: it’s an album I like very much.
Only Death Is Real 