Vintras

Dux, in fact, is the project band of Orthanc’s members. They come from the French underground, they were formed in 2007 and they have released a demo and the full length album “Vintras”. This album was released some time ago (March 2012) and it contains eight compositions of forty five minutes of duration. Musically, Dux hardly reminds of Orthanc, more in the fast parts and in the depressive atmosphere that is created by some passages. Generally their music is more oriented to the traditional, harsh and raw Black Metal sound. But what draws the attention and makes this project more interesting is the combination of that kind of sound with several traditional Heavy Metal touches.

The riffs are raw and straightforward and they become more interesting when the Heavy Metal riffing and the few but awesome solos which exist here and there, make their appearance. The guitars’ sound is raw and dirty, but without becoming annoying, and it reminds of the early ’90ies sound while at the same time the deliverance of the riffs is very good. Good job has also been done on the bass. It fills the compositions and it comes to the frontline, when needed, with solos and fast passages. The drums do their job very well both in the fast and in the slower parts, but without having anything special. The vocals are harsh and raw Black Metal vocals, brutal and powerful. Also the Heavy Metal screams in some tracks make a good impression and add even more tension to the compositions.

The production is harsh, raw, but no bassy so the sound isn’t so massive. The mix is very good, if you exclude the sound of the bass that more effort is needed in order to listen to clearly to the bass lines. However, in general, the sound comes out very good and it fits to the compositions’ style. The album’s lyrics are written in French and they make references to the French, occult tradition, to rituals and generally to Occultism. While the album’s cover is simple and doesn’t put you in the album’s atmosphere, the art work in the rest of the album is very good and it puts you in the occult atmosphere of the lyrics and the tracks.

Dux in their first full length album present us an album loyal to the old school raw Black Metal with references to the classic Heavy Metal sound. I think that it is a quite good effort that I listened, I listen and probably I will listen to it with pleasure. Surely this is a release that I would suggest to the loyal fans of the old Black Metal sound to buy. The rest of you, listen to it.