‘Exile’ is the second LP of distressed sludge and atmospheric black metal from French act Regarde Les Hommes Tomber. Comprising seven tracks and just over forty minutes of new music, ‘exile’ is an example of an album that must be played as one contiguous piece of the listener is to get the most out of it as tracks segue into one another and the music ebbs and flows across the album’s length. Ambitious, dark and strangely absorbing, ‘exile’ is one of those pieces of music that you may not play often, but when you do, your full attention will be placed upon it.
Opening with ‘L’exil’, a relatively brief introduction piece, RLHT slowly build to a searing post-metal riff that shimmers and burns with the monochrome glare of a magnesium flare, delay-drenched guitars winding their way around the listener and underpinned by a tumultuous rhythm section. That rhythm section also paves the way into the crushing blackened assault that is ‘A sheep among the wolves’ which pits grinding riffs and wind-tunnel vocals against a propulsive rhythmic backdrop that sounds like the first barrage of artillery in a major offensive. Reminiscent of the searing darkness and occasional glimpses of beauty found in the work of Winterfylleth, ‘a sheep among the wolves’ is a potent cocktail of juddering riffs that marks out ‘exile’ as a truly special album from the off. Neither pausing nor allowing the listener respite, ‘embrace the flames’ emerges in a storm of fizzing guitar and scarifying screams that howl in the darkness and slowly invade your consciousness. Switching deftly from gale-force riffs to juddering monsters that slam home with real force, ‘embrace the flames is a masterclass in extreme metal. Things take a softer, yet darker turn as the segue track ‘they came…’ ramps up the tension before ‘…to take us’ emerges, recalling Neurosis with its sludgy riff and icy atmosphere. There’s a tribal intensity to the track that the band expertly combine with a black spirit that propels the piece to new heights of intensity, the calm, almost hypnotic moments proving even more effective than the full-blown barrage which the band occasionally employ with devastating effect.
The final two tracks account for almost half of the album’s run time, the first piece being the seven minute ‘thou shall lie down’. Building over a brutal drum riff, ‘thou shall lie down’ maintains the hypnotic intensity of the previous track, the savagery of the vocals offset by the sludge-infused riffs and tribal percussion. Echo is used to great effect to bathe the vocals in an ethereal presence and the guitars drone and crawl around the thunderous rhythm, the band even heading into Darkthrone territory as the track progresses further into the abyss of black metal misanthropy. The final track of the album, ‘the incandescent march’, is a highlight, the band once again exploring the fringes of black metal and imbuing even the most brutal of riffs with an otherworldly quality that is both terrifying and yet hauntingly familiar at the same time. It is a world into which fans will step, despite their trepidation, and when the album spins to a halt it’s almost like being woken from a reverie, dazed and confused but somehow alive to the possibility of returning.
‘Exile’ is a dark, mesmerising tour de force that both demands and repays careful study. Written as an album, rather than a series of tracks, ‘Exile’ is best listened to as its creators intended, and the music ebbs and flows beautifully across the record, the album offering soaring highs and brutal, crushing lows. Atmospheric but with a visceral punch, RLHT have tempered their more ambitious passages with a brutality that is impossible to ignore and the result is an album that will ensnare the senses. Highly recommended.
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