The flame of Diablation does not fade.
Created in France, the band formed by Viscount Vampyr Arkames (vocals, Ad Inferna), V. Orias A. (guitar, Ad Inferna), Maximilien B. (bass, Bâ’a) and IX (drums, Eradikal Insane, ex-Corpus Diavolis) announces Par Le Feu, their second album, on the band formed by Viscount Vampyr.
Inferi Ostium, an ominous sample, slowly opens this album by leading us to Vox Diaboli after a visceral scream, creating the perfect gateway for this raw but melodious sound, to which possessed screams are added. Although extremely aggressive and oppressive, the sound also lets some haunting tones mingle with the wave of rage, followed by L’Unique Merveille which hypnotizes us with a soaring clean sound before letting saturation and vocals join it. Bewitching choirs appear sometimes in this abrasive and unhealthy rhythmic to create a contrast with devastating and intense main vocals, accompanied by a few spoken words to let the final lead us to Au Bord du Gouffre, a heavier composition. We still have this incessant drums and these scathing harmonics, but the general atmosphere is much heavier, more impressive and more macabre, allowing the band to play with more massive or darker vocal parts, before coming back to very Old School roots for Crépuscule Doré. Whether the track is first energetic, riffs will explode to release all their strength, before calming down, to finally mix their raw melancholy with their violence, punctuated by vocal interventions. The surges intensify to lead us to Testament de l’Humanité, a track which seems more accessible at first, but which will imperceptibly strengthen to integrate heavy tonalities to this mix between heady melodies and airy orchestrations before a transcendent final, which will fade away to give way to Mort, Marche avec Moi, the last composition. Much longer than the others, this last piece adds icy and unhealthy tones to a very expressive and virulent sound, whether during the most lively parts or on these heavy slow moments, which lead us to the final.
I already enjoyed Diablation‘s previous album a lot, and I can see the band has continued to grow an unhealthy and dark sound, which is expressed in an extremely virulent way with Par le Feu.
90/100