Tales Of Blood - Breath Of Repugnance

France’s Tales Of Blood were all but forgotten when they blipped up in 1993 and then kind of faded away until finally making a come back with their debut back in 2019. Continuing that Old School Splash this band has no frills and pays homage to the likes of the 90s bands like Cannibal Corpse and Immolation with the modern gusto of a band like Undeath, where the sound is raw, the song titles sick and right in the head, and overall just fast blast beating, moshpit starting music that sounds decently produced. Since their reunification, the band hasn’t shifted their lineup since the debut, still headed by guitarists Célia Sayaphoum, Jean Michel, and Nyvainch whose three pronged attack makes it clear that band is riff central and focused and ready to slay, but more on the riff than the guitar solo. Drums are thick and percussive like a cannon from Jerome especially on a track like ‘Low Cost Holocaust,’ and the bass from Guillaume Eloy somewhat fights to be heard, but it rumbles clear when hearing a track like ‘Time to Rot.’ Lastly the vocals from Samuel Ou-Rabah are guttural, but not Slam guttural and can be heard easily enough; think Barnes era Cannibal Corpse. Together, they deliver work that is comparable to the likes of “The Bleeding” or “Butchered at Birth.”

The Old School Death Metal vibe is certainly there with “Breath Of Repugnance,” but less so much the fuzziness to give it that home grown demo quality. As a result, when hearing tracks like ‘The Bloody Week’ it feels more drum and vocal centered as the pounding and growls take center as opposed to the guitars which have almost a hum as opposed to slashing riffs- save for the solo parts- which almost sound somewhat doom-ish and similar to that of Incantation as they almost feel like they slow down the music a bit. Other tracks like ‘Boss Killer Zombie’ are somewhat laughable at the title but have that Six Feet Under bounce to it and a very catchy chorus that is not to missed. Some might even feel it sounds a bit more like Torture Killer with its focus on the groove, somewhat that Tales Of Blood didn’t really do before as they focused more on brutality than catchiness. The faster side of the band is still ingrained in them though when considering a track like ‘Storm of Maggots’ which lives up to its name as it is relentless in its riffs (again, another riff/ guitar focused track alongside the drums) and has that Immolation fury to it.

They also dip their toes in Doom a bit with that nod to Incantation, especially with the closing ‘Funeral March’ which features atmospheric church bells and an overall lumbering pace that feels heavy, but still ferocious and picks up easily, but it is the spaced out riffs with their dramatic churning that really gives it life halfway through the song. Almost taking notes from Paradise Lost without the gothic touches, the song has the least amount of vocals making it a near instrumental, but still an effective way to close the album as the guitars almost drown them out. Overall, “Breath Of Repugnance” is a clean filth for Death Metal fans to enjoy and a welcome addition to the Great Dane roster. It is a bit shorter and refined than the previous effort, but adds a bit more groove than vomit to the force of the music and will rope in more of the mainstream fans out there in the genre to mosh and headbang among the rotten. A core 90s homage gem to enjoy, even if it does get a little repetitive at times.

3 / 5 STARS