L’Esprit Du Clan
Chapitre III: Corpus Delicti
Galy
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France is not usually thought of as hotbed for tough man moshcore music. An American stereotype of your average Frenchman involves a beret-wearing intellectual sipping tea while reading Sartre in a café overlooking the Seine. European metal and hardcore live in the cruel, cold north and east in Scandinavia and Germany, not the effete French Republic. Besides, how can a French accent sound intimidating?
Ask L’Esprit Du Clan, France’s toughest export since Robespierre built a solid career on Hatebreed-cum-Crowbar hardcore. Previous release Chapitre ll: Reverence perfected the form; this time around, the Clan strike off on new terrain. Instead of groove-heavy Sepultura-like bounciness, the songs thrash along with skillful dual guitar interplay. It sounds like the guitarists have been feasting their ears on a bounty of Swedish metal. “Sextour” is just one example of the newfound muscle in the riff department, though much of the record boasts dueling axes. “Dans Cette Fournaise” encapsulates their strengths with a galloping, Maiden-worthy beat and diverging guitar melodies.
As much as the Clan have honed their approach, the vocals still show some need for refinement. The swelling, ascending growl that accompanies the introductory “Mesdames and Messieurs” gives some indication of what follows. They wisely try different methods, from death metal grunts to sepulchral drone singing—some of it is ill-advised, some of it works. But it is L’Esprit du Clan’s collective mission to progress that makes this record their strongest to date. —Casey Boland
