Cantique Lepreux Le Bannissement Vinyl LP 2024

1. Le ravissement
2. Fuir
3. Rivieres rompues
4. Archetypes
5. Par la gueule des fantomes
6. Le reve primordial
7. Consecration

Quebec's own CANTIQUE LEPREUX are back with their third full-length album "Le bannissement". It is a tale of self-initiation, a rejection of society, and a glorification of nature - manifested in their signature style of swirling tremolo-guitar-riffs, tortured screams, and elaborate melodicism. Over the recent years they have established themselves as an essential act of the Metal Noir Quebecois scene. They channel the evocative power of Black Metal, carrying vast forests, desolate landscapes, impassable mountains, and cosmic torment. The band members are also associated with Melee des Aurores, Chasse-Galerie, Acedia, Maniere Noire, Chaos Catharsis, Forteresse, Deletere and Au-dela des ruines.

"Le bannissement" tells the abduction of a young girl and the sickness that is forced into her. Tainted, and rejected by those who should have protected her, she flees to wild and unexplored land, where she shatters and mends herself continuously. In these countless battles, she severs her bond to reality, subverts the sickness, and overthrows those who had seized her innermost Dream. Through banishment, liberation.

The album presents a raging and hypnotic narrative. Fast-paced songs drag the listener in a wild hunt, rushing towards self-annihilation. It was interpreted with the band's live line-up and equipment to preserve the fierceness of the mindset it was composed. This raging maelstrom, built on alluring melodies, shows guitarists Blanc Feu and Ascese's fascination for music history and musicology. The album's emotional power stems not only from black metal's common genre tropes but also from the austere grandeur of early music.