CHTHE´ILIST
Le Dernier Crépuscule
(Profound Lore Records)
52:47min

Ominous yet evocative, distressing yet contemplative, this is an album that has struck me in a very particular way. CHTHE’ILIST’s music comprises a fucking huge range of influences that have been weirdly and extraordinarily patched into something really, really unique. Listened as a whole, “Le Dernier Crépuscule” has the aggressive features all Death Metal bands are meant to have, a pungent heavy sound made of complex riffs and structures, all delivered with mastery and feeling. But at times, the engaging violence also gives place to a menacing and obscure atmosphere, which personally drew my attention much more. It sounded a bit confusing at first because they change pace and riffs several times, an approach that doesn’t really interests me, but once you get to listen to it closely, you realise this Quebecois power trio really worked on something that is really hard to achieve: being a solely Death Metal band able to grasp the best in each Death Metal subgenres. The vocals are absurdly grotesque, with some variations that flirt a lot with Gore bands, but maintain great part of its lines within the reverb-fed Death Metal growls of these days; the drums are also a highlight, once even in the most predictable passages there’s always some creative beat and fill that adds up to the songs. The riffs are great too, but I felt that sometimes the excess of variations also take part of the obscurity away, something that is overcompensated with well-composed solos and guitar arrangements that reminded me a lot of CHARON’s “Sulphur Seraph” album timbres but with more notes. And last but not least, the bass, which I rarely saw so evident in a band with so many boxes to tick regarding the employed techniques. This guy would make a good Steve DiGiorgio of this generation, and the comparison with DEATH’s music is something that shouldn’t be taken only regarding the bass lines, but still, these bass lines are one of a kind. Said that, this is not a technical band playing polished Metal to show off their skills, but a very competent trio pushing the limits forward without forgetting the roots of this genre. I strongly recommend this album to Death Metal fans of all its “branches”. More info about them at www.facebook.com/chtheilist, www.profoundlorerecords.com.

Diego Rodrigues

Diego Rodrigues

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