Nothing is more important for me than resulting captivated by a band at first listening. And this is exactly what happened to me with this EP, “À La Croisée Des Vents”, originally released back in 2008. From the very first second, with that intro, the band really blew my mind. Using that acoustic guitar as a bridge full of calm and peace, but all of a sudden, an explosion of Black Metal occurs. A galloping march rises and ‘Spellbound’ shows up screaming and letting us all know what ‘La Guillotine Est Fort Expéditive’ is all about, a song that represents the identity of the EP and the band. And what I mean by that is, an EP full of a very dense atmosphere, still surrounded by a perfect balance of rage, hopelessness, melancholy and desperation. I love the vocal parts that are agonizing and the way the clean vocals are part of the act. This is something we can find in songs like ‘Le Charroi De Nîmes’ or ‘1693-1694: Famine Et Anthropophagie’, as well as tons of even Folk and Heavy Metal elements, all combined with an exquiste Black Metal taste all accross the EP. And that we can hear on the song ‘Aorlhac’, which is an extraordinary mix of (again) Folk, Heavy, Pagan and Black Metal, all in one single piece. Phenomenal! For this re-release, that comes as a DIN A5 sized digipak, done by the label Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions, we have three bonus tracks, ‘Mémoires D’alleuze’ (from the “Opus I” compilation 2009), ‘L’Oeil Du Choucas’ and ‘Les Charognars Et La Catin’ (both from the “La Maisniee Du Maufe” split CD 2011), closing the EP in a very coherent way. This is a very good listening if we want to immerse ourselves in a journey of sounds, sensations and feelings still within that Black Metal vibe. Check them out! www.facebook.com/aorlhac, www.facebook.com/ladloproductions