Moonreich - Pillars of Detest

MOONREICH - Pillars of Detest (LADLO - CD 2015)

This is another CD from the bunch of new releases by the French label Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions. And damn, it’s also another one, which I am very positively surprised. It’s yet again a French band, with quite odd name Moonreich and I think I even heard of them before, but did not ever bother to check any of their previous releases. Which I will surely fix asap, as this new album from Moonreich, called “Pillars of Detest” is simply great. I suppose I like it even more than Deluge, even if they’re pretty equally interesting. But “Pillars of Detest” has that something what makes music to standout and impress fully, for being unique and unordinary.

I was giving “Pillars of Detest” many listens through the past few days. And that’s not because it is a demanding and difficult album, but just because it’s such a satisfying and addictive music. I like that Moonreich is more deeply rooted in the black metal than some other LADLO bands, but at the same time brings that original and unique touch to it. The music is full of dynamics, comfortably combining the furious and harsh black metal assault with a strong, gloomy atmospheric pieces and something else, what probably could be described as a “post metal” factor, although I am not quite sure whether the band would really appreciate such description. The transition between all these styles and moods is always very smooth and even if the fast, raw sounding black metal seems to dominate, it does leave just enough room to incorporate something different, what would take Moonreich music to another level and make it more diverse.

I am actually quite happy to say that it’s not so easy to bring one, obvious comparison to some other black metal bands, at least my mind is completely blank at the moment. Well, maybe I can spot some similarities to the masters of avantgarde, Deathspell Omega, also such Svartidauði comes to my mind here and there (like in “Believe & Behead”), while the fragments, when Moonreich really speeds up and breaks the neck with relentless aggression can even be compared to the Swedish black metal bands (“Freikorps”). But damn, at the same time you’ll find here songs like “Pillar of Detest - World Shroud”, where the riffing from its mid till end part is almost like sort of groovy metal, comparable to Gojira, which is for sure as surprising as unexpected, but works damn well with the harsh blackish screams and obscure, malevolent aura. And then there’s also “Sheïtan”, which stylistically is exactly what one would describe as post fuckin metal song, with its instrumental playing, you know? The final track of the album, “Death Winged Majesty”, is also a perfect mixture of this sort of playing with the harshness and aggression of black metal. But this song conjures the dark and sick atmosphere in great way, the riffing is awesome and with nine minutes on the clock, this surely is my favourite part of the whole album, right after “Believe & Behead”, which is a total blast.

Generally I think that Moonreich is a band, which may have some problems with getting the deserved attention, as “Pillars of Detest” can be too progressive in places for the more orthodox black metal woshippers and at the same time it can be too harsh and sick for those, who like all that post black metal thing. Anyway, I cannot bother less. Personally, I find this album as really damn good and cannot make any complains on it, other than a rather crappy front artwork. Good stuff!

Standout tracks: “Believe & Behead”, “Sheïtan”, “Death Winged Majesty”

Final rate: 80/100