Premiere: Edremerion – Lèpre

October 12, 2018

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Step in for some French avant-garde black metal!

I wouldn’t blame you for having heard of Edremerion. I hadn’t either, despite the fact these Frenchmen have existed for nigh a century, enduring several line-up changes, and independently releasing two EP’s before being picked by Symbol of Domination. Co-released with Anesthetize Productions, Edremerion’s debut, Amber Gris, is chock full of melancholic black metal goodness, and for a band so eagerly looking to label themselves as “avant-garde” surprisingly little out of the ordinary elements. The label compares the band to the likes of Ved Buens Ende, Ulver, Satyricon, Fleurety, DHG and Virus, but the majority of these names come to mind scarcely and forcefully.

Amber Gris is a massive record. One that seems, at times, too big for its own frames, which lends the music a nervous quality. Somewhere in the corners lurk hints of post-metal and doom, and despite the constant melancholy, and grim humour with which Edremerion paints portraits of modern life’s bitter irony, Amber Gris remains colourful beyond its palette. From that view, it seems fairer, perhaps, to compare Edremerion to the big names of avant-garde, for although their music has more in common with In The Woods… ‘s last records than it does with VBE, the means of portrayal and sought-after end product remain similar.

Today we have the pleasure of bringing you an aggressively moody piece, “Lèpre”, that will ease you into Edremerion’s world, but only hint at what’s to come. They have such sights to show you.