Ossuaire - Mortes Fables
Ossuaire are one of those obscure ‘one album wonder’ bands who made it far enough to crank out 1 full length album back in 2010 before disbanding a few years later. Judging from the obscure history they’ve been around since 2000 so the gritty, yet technical tone of their choice of death metal from France is very much like Gorguts meets the doomy wailing riffs of My Dying Bride. It is an interesting dark sound that will appeal to any fan of groups like “Gothic” era Paradise Lost all the way to “Obscura” by Gorguts and even a bit of “The Negation” by Decapitated.
Now it seems like almost 11 years later the album is being resurrected with this reissue on tape. The drums are the focus here when it comes to tracks like ‘Le Siege’ or ‘Feeria in Anus…’ which have their fast and slow moments with the riffs but the drumming is always impressive. The vocals are gurgling and evil as ever with slam death vehemence that makes it all the more brutal. True, the band’s lyrical nature and aggression makes the sound slightly more cave-man death metal without the progressive or ‘wow factor’ flair of a group like Gorguts, but the album still stands out from being just another re hash of Cannibal Corpse or Death with their sound.
Speaking of Death it sounds like there’s a bit of influence there in the riffs when it comes to a track like ‘In Scatorks Excrementis.’ While this track is less technical and more one’s straightforward death metal track with a tons of groove and less of the drum wizardry it stands out simply for the memorable rhythms. Then there is the closing ‘R.S.P.E’ which takes a darker, atmospheric turn. Moving away from the technical death metal elements one is drenched in reverb and slow burn riffs that are much more doom metal oriented, with the long drawn out growls and eerie guitar tones. It is certainly a different touch to what has been heard so far, but an excellent choice for a closer and a different take to branch out Ossuaire’s sound. It would have been nice to hear more of what these guys had to offer because the album is sadly short (28 minutes) but has plenty of good things (despite the language barrier and sometimes distortion barrier). It is a dark gem that is worth checking out and thankfully got exhumed even if it was 10 years too late because it was originally released independently. Those who enjoy an old school but technical sound in death metal will probably enjoy this a lot.
3.5 / 5 STARS
Now it seems like almost 11 years later the album is being resurrected with this reissue on tape. The drums are the focus here when it comes to tracks like ‘Le Siege’ or ‘Feeria in Anus…’ which have their fast and slow moments with the riffs but the drumming is always impressive. The vocals are gurgling and evil as ever with slam death vehemence that makes it all the more brutal. True, the band’s lyrical nature and aggression makes the sound slightly more cave-man death metal without the progressive or ‘wow factor’ flair of a group like Gorguts, but the album still stands out from being just another re hash of Cannibal Corpse or Death with their sound.
Speaking of Death it sounds like there’s a bit of influence there in the riffs when it comes to a track like ‘In Scatorks Excrementis.’ While this track is less technical and more one’s straightforward death metal track with a tons of groove and less of the drum wizardry it stands out simply for the memorable rhythms. Then there is the closing ‘R.S.P.E’ which takes a darker, atmospheric turn. Moving away from the technical death metal elements one is drenched in reverb and slow burn riffs that are much more doom metal oriented, with the long drawn out growls and eerie guitar tones. It is certainly a different touch to what has been heard so far, but an excellent choice for a closer and a different take to branch out Ossuaire’s sound. It would have been nice to hear more of what these guys had to offer because the album is sadly short (28 minutes) but has plenty of good things (despite the language barrier and sometimes distortion barrier). It is a dark gem that is worth checking out and thankfully got exhumed even if it was 10 years too late because it was originally released independently. Those who enjoy an old school but technical sound in death metal will probably enjoy this a lot.
3.5 / 5 STARS