SORTILEGE - Métamorphose CD
Jewel case in a slipcase with a black tray, a poster booklet and a 2-sided mini poster in a slipcase.
Sortilège wasted no time after their eponymous debut EP to create another masterpiece. Métamorphose expands on the solid metal foundation of their debut and adds a little more sophistication. The production is slightly beefier, too, although the debut was nearly perfect in that regard, too. It could be that on here the drums are slightly more up front, especially the brutal bass drums.
Most of Métamorphose is intense. "D'ailleurs" kicks you right in your balls from the get-go, with Zouille's commanding voice and Bob Snake's merciless double bass onslaught. The little melodic run with the vocals and guitars give you only enough breathing room to get your ass kicked again. I'd deign to claim this gives "Freewheel Burning" a run for it's money. The lead break is positively devastating! " Cyclope de l'étang" is another one of those hard hitting, fast numbers with some especially crushing break downs where Bob Snake crushes your face with his drumming. Elsewhere, "Majesté" and the title track slow things down a little. "Majesté" in particular sounds majestic, for lack of a better word, with its soaring melodies and expert song writing. The slow down at the end brings things to such a marvelous close. Zouille's high notes on here are piercing, and he gives perhaps his best performance. Not even Halford had this awesome of a range or this much power...
There are a few songs on here that don't quite blow me away on here. "Hymne à la mort" and "Délire d'un fou" are nice changes of pace, but don't quite push the needle as far as you'd want--oddly enough, on the following album they'd perfect this emotional aspect. But these are great tunes, nonetheless--just paling a bit next to such absolute monsters as the rest.
You really can't go wrong with Sortilège, and Métamorphose is not exception.