Zatokrev is finally back.
Ten years after their last studio album, Frederyk Rotter (guitar/vocals), Lucas Löw (bass/vocals), Matthieu Hardouin (guitar/vocals), and Frédéric Hug (drums) have signed with Pelagic Records for the release of their fifth album, …Bring Mirrors to the Surface, on which they feature some of their compatriots.
The album opens with Red Storm, a suffocating first track welcoming the bands Bölzer and Schammasch for a haunting collaboration that combines slowness, heaviness, and diverse vocals that haunt the dissonance. The instrumental track doesn’t hesitate to calm down while remaining oppressive, taking advantage of its minimalist tones to highlight the vocals before a controlled pause that once again calls for infernal saturation, transforming the leads into shrill sounds before Blood offers us its haunting harmonics. The track also features some fairly stirring passages that contrast with the raw, throbbing power, but also welcomes Inezona into its cradle of anxiety before moving on to the frenzied The Only Voice, which effortlessly carries us away in its torrent of fury. Heart-wrenching cries fill the air and intensify an impenetrable rhythm that barely slows down as it welcomes touches of prog, pausing the flow before joining Unwinding Spirits, which begins much more softly but also more darkly, even becoming a little mystical when the voices respond to each other. The musicians welcome Manuel Gagneux (Zeal & Ardor), who adds an extra ethereal touch that slowly weaves its way into our minds and slows down before reaching Faint, where we find fairly modern and sometimes surprising effects that contrast with all this raw heaviness. The touch of madness is increasingly visible, and it gives the chaotic final its flavor before having Schammasch again for Changes, a track that adopts Black/Death accents in addition to its original influences and wild vocals, then moves towards a very vaporous approach with soaring riffs that gradually calm down, lulling us for a moment, before the vocals return to disturb the tranquility. Pearl Eyes stays in this realm of heavy, charged riffs, but includes a lot of clean vocals, creating a catchy sound bordering on Post Metal. Then, with the American band Minsk, the group closes this chapter on Deep Dark Turns Green, a composition that is at first as majestic as possible, then ultimately quite imposing on the vocal duo, tender on the minimalist central break that leads back to the vocals, then to silence.
While Zatokrev can be very brutal and aggressive, it is in the soaring tones that the band really shines. The various collaborations on …Bring Mirrors to the Surface perfectly punctuate this excellent album.
90/100