Snaking their way once more through the underground, Parisian black punk outfit Fleckentarn returns with their third full-length release, Feu du Ciel, Feu de l’Esprit. This is their most unfiltered effort yet—bleak, minimal, and hypnotic. With each release, the band grows more primal and stripped-down, exposing a chaotic torrent of emotion across these tracks. It’s introspective, yet simple. A raw, chaotic punk assault.
The album jumps straight into the noise, with a jangly guitar riff over some pounding drums. The riff has some slight variations through out the song that change seamlessly here and there to create this swirling and hypnotic effect that, when not paying attention, can feel like it slipped right past you. Couple that with the crude and raw production style, the instrumentation all sorts blends together in one noisy blur. This approach is repeated through out the album, which, when listened to fully in one sitting, can be tiring to get through. It feels like a sluggish trek through murky sounds as you try to piece out the rather fun and creative riff writing that was done here.
The catchy riff writing can only carry this album so far. While a lot of the melodies and riffs are ear worms it’s only that way because of just how much it repeats over and over again for 3 to 4 minute tracks. The vocals are somewhat forgettable, they’re harsh and blend together with the wall of sound that you almost forget they’re there until you hear the distant screech.
I was a little disappointed with this album. I wanted to like it, as I really enjoyed the previous demo and their debut release. While they were just as raw and primitive, they had a bit more of a punk bent to it, the tracks were a bit shorter, so the riffs didn’t feel like they overstayed their welcome while still leaving their impact and overall, just felt more impactful and focused. This album, Feu du Ciel, Feu de l’Esprit, feels more like a drug induced haze filled with crusty punkish black metal. While I wasn’t that captured by it, I can see others being big fans of this album. Hopefully next time around they put out something more interesting.