Forteresse is a Quebecois band which has been able to somehow pull off what many bands cannot do: use a pre-existing style, not alter it too much, and somehow end up with a sound that is recognizable.
In this new full-length release, this band has done what it has done before, only with better production. This can mean one of two things... that their fans will be satisfied with the same kind of material that they were expecting from the band, or that their sound could become redundant with each album.
Nevertheless, what we have here seems to be a solid, lengthly arrangement of musics tied together with rustic-sounding soundclips and spoken word passages. The drumming sounds more tight and interesting than ever before, the vocals seem to be howled densely between many sonic walls of reverberation, and the guitars are enough to hypnotize the listener into a strange, pensive state.
Overall, I personally see this album as very specific in the sense that it must be listened to upon the right state of mind. It is as orthodox as it is unorthodox... a taste acquired and fleeting all the same.
Any way you look at it, though, there is always time for some new Forteresse material. Certainly worth a listen for folks who wish to charter the direction in which black metal is going in the new age.
-Elan
-Elan
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