The pandemic made À Terre spawn.
Created in 2020 in Bordeaux, France, the band composed of Grégoire Caussèque (vocals), Léo Lassalle Saint-Jean (guitar), Simon Casteran (guitar), Jérôme Broekaert (bass) and Sébastien Bonneau (drums) released its first EP, Notre Ciel Noir, at the beginning of 2021, followed by Traversée, in 2022.
Notre Ciel Noir, the band’s first offering, begins with the dissonant but hooking Bordeaux Traumatisme, a tribute to their hometown which melts raw influences of Post-Metal, Post-Hardcore and Screamo. The alliance of the weighing instrumental and visceral screams in French is highly seizing, just like the haunting L’Éternel Retour and its melancholic leads which bring a touch of softness to the crushing rage. Very consistent and dark, the sound lets place to La Réponse, a long composition with a soaring introduction, which unveils a weighing rhythmic, an airy break and hypnotic leads.
One year later, the band puts forward Traversée, an EP of three tracks too, which comes to life with Cinquième Colonne, a heavy and impressive track which also spits its whisky voice in French to walk with dissonance. Aggression will be completed by this devastating break, then Résurrection offers a slow progression into heaviness. Some Hardcore influences in vocals meet airy and soaring leads, bringing softer and more heady roots which come to its end with a restful break. Clean sound slowly moves ahead, then it drives us to the “short” Seulement Toi. The composition is as raw as desperate and deep, and the contrast between the introduction and the saturation is impressive, unveiling both strength and sincerity from the band.
À Terre is born into suffering and they cultivate it. Their melting of Post-Metal, Post-Hardcore, Screamo and sincerity give them a scarred identity which perfectly fits their abrasive and dissonant sound. Notre Ciel Noir opened the path, and Traversée feeds those devastated influences which can in my opinion go far.
95/100