d o m

Ia!Ia!, indeed. The music made by this French avant-zeuhl band (named after a deity created by noted horror/sci-fi author H.P. Lovecraft) is a major development of Magma's eerie soundscapes produced a decade previously, and upon the dark textures of bands such as Univers Zero and Art Zoyd. Pounding, opressive percussion, clear soprano lead, massively distorted bass, apocalyptic, explosive guitar. I can safely say that this is the fiercest album I've ever heard. And it's not just its fierceness, but the overwhelming musicality. Each member contributes to a mysterious, fairly frightening atmosphere. Despite the raging, almost anarchic guitar solos, and the barely-in-check rhythmic pounce, there is never the feeling of indulgence or lack of focus. The musicians have stated that it wasn't their intention to make 'dark' music per se, but extreme sounds. This music is extremely engaging, conjuring any number of black images and a kind of heresy of the senses. The sound? Well, there are references to Magma, with the operatic vocal and throbbing bass, but Christian Vander's band never sounded so intimidating, so gigantic. That is not to say this music is lumbering or heavy-handed, but massive, overwhelming, seductive. This is not for the musically faint or soft-hearted. This is for the experimental, dramatic (if all drama be equal), introspective. Incredible music. review by Dominique Leone — undated —

b r a n d o n

This band is most often compared to Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, and Magma; I find the Magma comparison to be a bit misleading. My choice would be Present: the screaming, tortured guitar found here is like nothing that's found on any of the former three bands' releases. Absolutely huge bass and aggressive, dissonant piano work round out the instrumentation. The drumming is also very effective, though I feel Daniel Denis' work is still better. Vocals - female soprano - are clear, high, and add a strange sort of mysterious, foreboding beauty to the whole affair. Everything is about as dark as you might expect from a band that's compared to the four groups mentioned above, perhaps even darker: Magma had nothing on this, nor even Univers Zero except perhaps on Heresie (a good description of Les Morts Vont Vite, in fact, might be "Heresie with more teeth"). Let's use the fourth track as a representative one: it begins with quietly haunting organ soon overlaid with those darkly beautiful vocals; the quiet opening explodes abruptly into pounding percussion, bass distorted beyond all recognition, and guitar screaming faintly in the distance. The guitar eventually claws its way to the fore of this absolutely killer instrumental freakout, which finally ends with blasts from the trombone and some fast vocal lines. This is about eight and a half minutes of the most dark, intense, and frankly enjoyable music in this style that I've ever heard. And the whole disc is like this! So: this is fucking huge. Get it. review by Brandon Wu — 4-12-00 —