Hailing from France, Moonreich last raised their heads above the parapet with 2015’s excellent ‘Pillars of detest’ (reviewed here) and now the band have returned with ‘Fugue’, their fourth full-length album since the band’s inception in 2008. A personal favourite of LADLO (Les Acteurs De l’ombre) Productions manager Gerald, Moonreich incorporate prog and post-hardcore influences into their black metal and ‘Fugue’, beautifully packaged in a digi-book (it’s also available as a double gatefold vinyl), serves as a remarkable celebration of the band’s tenth anniversary.
Opening with the lengthy fugue pt. 1: every time she passes away, Moonreich take their time, a picked refrain easing the listener into the acrobatic riffs that dominate the track. Airy and dynamic, Moonreich make good use of space, introducing a tension-inducing pause here or a quiet, introspective moment there. In utilising such inventive shifts, Moonreich not only demonstrate considerable ambition in their arrangements and musicianship, but they also do much to emphasise the naked fury of the vocals, the overall impact of the piece far more than if the band simply steamrollered the listener into submission with relentless riffs. Fugue pt. 2: every time the earth slips away emerges directly from its predecessor and, at a lengthy ten-minutes, it allows the band to explore the progressive hinterlands of death metal even more effectively. Impressively, although Moonreich clearly enjoy indulging their more inventive instincts, the band never sacrifices the power inherent in their music, with the darkly melodic first half of the song doing much to recall the distressed post-metal of Isis and the Ocean Collective. Having lulled the listener into a false sense of security, the discordant nightmare of With open throat for way too long is a dissonant, jarring slab of death metal, sinuous and dangerous. Hell-bent on leading the listener down dark paths, with open throat… is a blistering example of Moonreich’s power.
Opening the second half of the album, the short, sharp heart symbolism opens in a doom-ish mode, with echoes of Paradise Lost, only to suddenly explode into ferocious life, the band pummelling the listener for four, bone-rattling minutes. In contrast, the militaristic might of Rarefaction sees Moonreich engage in a more regal form of death metal, the crushing tattoo of the snare giving way to vibrant stabs of guitar that blaze and scrape against the listener’s reeling senses. This is death metal as it should be red in tooth and claw, and it leaves little quarter for the ill-prepared. A short respite, in the form of the picked intro for carry that drought cause I have no arms anymore allows a sliver of calm before the oncoming storm, the band infusing their frenzied assault with progressive elements that make for endlessly fascinating listening. It leaves only the things behind the moon to close the album, the ten-minute epic once again allowing the band the opportunity to engage in a more expansive from of death metal which, whilst still unutterably heavy, offers an air of mystery and excitement that few bands seem capable of inducing. It brings the album to a suitably theatrical close and leaves the listener somewhat dizzied by the experience.
With stunning artwork, courtesy of the oddly-monikered drumshit and impressive production work from Henosis studio, fugue is an inventive and diverse album that keeps the listener guessing from start ‘til end. Crushingly heavy, the band still manage to imbue their music with a dark sense of melody that keeps the pieces memorable, whilst their deft musicianship allows for an ebb and flow that is as beguiling as it is blistering. A strong progression from an already impressive band, fugue is a beautifully packaged work or dark art that shows just how inventive extreme music can be when allowed the opportunity. 9
