I read somewhere that French death metallers Loudblast were about
to reform and were currently working on new material together with Aggressor
main man Alex Colin-Toquaine. This is astonishing and excellent news
since Loudblast is among my favorite bands ever and I was sort
of devastated when I heard of their split in 1999. Unfortunately, the band over
its long career has not released many albums and this is perhaps why they did not
meet the success they deserved. After a split LP Licensed To Thrash in
1987 together with their fellow compatriots Agressor (a split
LP consisted of a vinyl with one of the two bands material on one side and the
other band’s materials on the other side), they released their first album
Sensorial Treatment in 1989, their second album Disincarnate in
1991 recorded at Morrissound Studio in Tampa, their third album Sublime Dementia
in 1993 also recorded at Morrissound Studio in Tampa, and finally their latest
recording Fragments in 1998 mixed by Colin Richardson. They also released
a worshipping EP Cross The Threshold in 1994. I have always thought the
band has been underestimated probably because of their French nationality.
I will always think this band should have deserved the attention of every death
metal freak since their two latest recordings Sublime Dementia and Fragments
as well as their EP Cross The Threshold are among the best and most
original death metal albums ever produced.
Their third album Sublime Dementia has been recorded at Morrissound Studio in Tampa and produced by Scott Burns because at the time it had be so. Although the band started in 1986 as a thrash metal band, this release is pure technical death metal. I don’t think I could come up with any band that influenced the guys since I believe they have never really been influenced by anyone else except maybe a little bit by Death’s mainman Chuck Schuldiner, because both bands’ death metal became very technical over the years. This album is comprised of ten songs of which two of them, About Solitude and In Perpetual Motion, are instrumental. Their technical death metal is very well played throughout this album especially due to the four guy's excellent and proficient musicianship. Loudblast’s music has always been original and their music a solid work of melodic death metal that consisted of great skillfull rhythmic twin guitars and phenomenal lead guitar work (the soloings on Sublime Dementia and especially on the phenomenal My Last Journey are just beyond compare). The fast double bass coupled with the phenomenal drum work of Hervé Coquerel just add an intense feeling of powerful heaviness to those memorable pieces of unrestrained metal jewels. Their music will with no doubt, appeal to melodic death metal fans as well as fans of other metal genres if they can disregard the typical growled death metal vocals displayed by Stéphane Buriez. I had the chance to see the band on stage a couple of times. The first time in 1991 as the opening act for US gore metallers Cannibal Corpse and the second time in 1994 or 1995 I believe when they toured Europe to support this album. Both times, it was a great show and the band has always been able to reproduce their excellent death metal note for note, due as I said above, to the excellent musicianship of this band. I really hope the band will do a powerful comeback if the reformation is confirmed, because they really deserve it. |