Vehementer Nos are one of the exponents of the genre that could be dubbed ‘art black metal’; while not being so much ahead of their time to be avant garde, in their lengthy songs they do look for a delicate balance between complex black metal and gloomy violin atmospheres and while doing so walk the less well-trodden roads. Starting point on the metal side of things is the fresh candour of Norwegian black metal, build up from rapidly alternating and changing short dissonant riffs with a thick and dense distorted sound, comparable to Deathspell Omega and alike. Generally the bass and drums lay patterns for the riffs to develop upon, but the battery frequently increases tempo itself with the guitars keeping the original rhythm, providing the music with an extremely stirring ambience. Along with the resonating riffs come the echoing vocals that sound quite haunting and fit the music well. At various moments the music slows down to a doomy pace where violin, flute and strumming guitars play restrained and quiet passages that come across as a mix of classical and folky themes.

What Vehementer Nos does really well is the neat transition and integration of the different sounds and spheres. Where ‘Les Dévastés’ shines in distorted, menacing and still melodic aggression, the following ‘Absurde’ is a far more experimental affair in which the guitars, violins and flutes eventually blend together in a well-composed concerto. In the next track ‘Seuls’ we hear chanting vocals, dry but symphonic keyboards and more traditional repetitive leads. Whereas I’m quite impressed, I must say however that the band could use a bit more focus on central themes in their songs to make them just that bit more riveting. Should they succeed I can see them doing wonderful things in the future, since they effortlessly expand the better things of the latest wave of French black metal with poignant and intelligent ideas, without falling for easy romantic moods.