Litanie Au Mal

Sombre Croisade after the bad, in my opinion, split “Molasar Dream’s” they return after a few months in order to release their second work and their first full length album. So, “Litanie Au Mal” contains eight compositions of an hour and twenty minutes of duration. Musically, the band didn’t change much in its sound, that is that they play this slow, cold and melancholic Black Metal that they had presented to us also in their previous release, but this time with better production and mix.

The riffs are slow and mid tempo, quite cold and at the same time melancholic. Although they are interesting, because of their continual repetition inside the tracks and the big duration of the tracks they become tedious for the listener. Although they are mentionable, the few passages that exist don’t achieve to warm the interest of the listener up. The guitars deliver the compositions very well, without faults and with passion. The lines of the bass, which is clearly audible in this album, are simple and follow the guitars while they fill the sound very well. The drums have simple lines apart from some parts which become more technical and complex, but generally they just fill the sound. The vocals are harsh, dirty Black Metal vocals, quite improved since the previous release, with better expression and with a tone that fits to the compositions better.

About the production, compared with the previous release, the improvement is big. The sound is bassy, dirty but without creating any noise. The mix has also been improved, all the instruments are audible without any being covered. Surely both the production and the mix can be improved even more so as the sound to become a little more massive and the voice not to be neglected in some parts. The lyrics are written in French and they are contained in the cd, something that does not apply to the promo, so I don’t know with what the band deals.

Generally I think that the most important problem of “Litanie Au Mal” is the huge tracks which tire the listener and in the end there is nothing left of the tracks in his mind. A lot of the riffs are interesting but they are lost inside the moderate structure and the big tracks. However the improvement of the band since their previous release is big and this shows musicians who evolve and that’s positive. I wouldn’t suggest you to listen to this album. Only for the fans of the genre.