Welcome to Räum.
Created in Belgium in 2020, the band composed of Olivier Jacqmin (vocals), Geoffrey Deghaye (guitar), Jérôme Di Naro (guitar) and Xavier Legrand (drums) released a first demo before signing with Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions for the release of Cursed by the Crown, their first album.
Andromeda, the first track, introduces us to the first elements of a tortured and dissonant universe which gradually shrouds us before exploding with the arrival of drums, then visceral screams. The jerky melodies sometimes offer haunting tones before letting rage express itself again in this hazy contrast between accelerations and softer parts like this final break which leads us to Cursed by the Crown and its abrasive sounds coupled with wild screams. The mix is extremely aggressive while placing airy touches, but fury will turn into melancholy when clean sound appears, but it will come back to life at the same time as saturation, just like on Fallen Empire which becomes quickly lively while letting the Old School mix give it a heavy saturation. But the band also knows how to unveil much softer and airy elements, whether it’s with or without saturation, letting them anchor their frantic riffs in a haunting atmosphere before Beyond the Black Shades of the Sun, the last track, starts. The atmosphere remains quite heavy while using its twelve minutes to place ambient keyboards and more Old School elements which perfectly fit with the soaring melancholy. Clean voice and dissonance come to temper the rhythmic before it floods us once again with a suffocating slowness, which will turn into quietness to be better destroyed.
Räum is a visceral project which comes to life between melancholy and raw sounds. Cursed by the Crown offers an Old School approach of a dark, heavy and organic Post-Black Metal, which perfectly fits the band.
90/100