Creeps

Supuration were without a doubt France's best contribution to the ever flowing stream of global Death Metal in the early 1990's. The Creeping Unknown was the band's second EP and it is a fucking masterpiece. Sadly only two songs, but this young band crams enough strangeness and pummel into these tracks you might find yourself listening to this one several times in a row.

Here

Goat Father

Finis Gloria Dei is another excellent band from the same camp as Seigneur Voland, Blessed In Sin, Desolation Triumphalis and the like. I believe this unit's mission statement is to be more Satanic than the member's other bands. Goat: Father of the New Flesh, Finis Gloria Dei's sole full length, musically reminds me of Grand's Belial's Key, and the more Celtic Frosted moments of Darkthrone. These guys lack some of the melodic sensibilities you may have come to associate with the French Black Metal, but they make up for it with simple, effective, headbanging riffs. Goat: Father of the New Flesh is a triumph of good old fashioned Satanic Black Metal.

Goat!

Elected Evil

Easily one of the greatest monuments to French Black Metal supremacy is Bekhira's stunning debut L'Elu du Mal. Every track bristles with shimmering melodic tremolo picking, blasting washes of drums, and distant anguished vocals. The Paris-based band is an elusive entity, only releasing one demo, a split with Desolation Triumphalis, and this colossal album over the seventeen years since their formation. Member Arkdae has kept consistently busy with his Neo-folk band Dark Sanctuary, while Raktivira has worked with other French kults Osculum Infame and Arkhon Infaustus. The members of Bekhira consider the band to be active, but not a word about new material has surfaced. Hopefully there is more Bekhira to come, in the mean time get with this bit of evil.

Mal

In The Maze of Kadath

Kadath is a giant castle where menacing gods reside. Mortals can not enter its gates, but Catacomb, an obscure Death Metal band from Toulon France, gained entry in 1993. The result was this obscure treasure of an EP titled In The Maze of Kadath. On that cold and misty day the Old Ones reveled in murky guitars, shredding solos, and guttural vocals belching forth lyrics singing their unholy praise.

Here

Seigneur Voland vs. Chemin de Haine

Today we pit Hearse alum Seigneur Voland against fellow French fanatics, Chemin de Haine. Both bands feature the melancholic riffery of a dodgy character named Laurent who also operated in Desolation Triumphalis. Chemin de Haine are a bit more ferocious in their approach but both bands play the sort of melodic Black Metal France is known for. Seigneur Voland is the winner here for being a bit more interesting but it was close.

Here

Yamasuki

Are you ready for some sickeningly infectious multi-culti baroque pop? Oh good. Yamasuki (sometimes called The Yamasuki Singers) were the brainchild of a pair of French producers named Kluger and Vangarde who scored a minor hit in their native land with a single called "Yamasuki," the duo decided to capitalize on that success with a full length LP of Japanese/French pop love called Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki. In order to do this, they hired a Judo master to announce the songs and a Japanese children's choir to sing. The album evokes everything there is to love about Serge Gainsbourg, children's shows of the '70s and antiquated ideas about Japan. Not sure how anyone could not like this record, perhaps if you had no ears, no soul and were a total dick, as for the rest of you, this will bring a smile to your dour mug.

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Rockets Beaucoup

Had some requests to reup the Rockets links but decided rather to give you the first six studio albums in one post. Partially because I love you, partially because I am lazy, and don't feel like writing a whole lot today. Either way, you win.

Rockets

On The Road Again

Plasteroid

Galaxy

Pi 3, 14

Atomic

Voqkrre

Here's some mysterious French black metal from Voqkrre, a name seemingly inspired by Les Legions Noire. The sound throughout this demo, titled Malveillance, is murky and depressive. Serious wrist-cutting sonics and bleak, cobwebbed cantos to all that is negative and dark. Malveillance is a gauzy, vague nightmare. Voqkrre is a two-man concern, the members being named Morne and Dunkel. Morne also operates in the more traditional black metal band Anwynn, while Dunkel fills out his busy nights playing in Drakonhail.

Here

Tokio Airport

Since we all have been enjoying our primitive French synth wave as of late it seems the time is right to drop this, what may be the most essential release of the genre, Metal Boys Tokio Airport. The album was the result of a collaboration between seminal Metal Urbain members and a mysterious English woman simply named China. Oh so French nihilism, archaic drum machines, itchy bitchy guitars drop you into one of the coldest, campiest listens of your life. Anal probe now, but later we dance. Enjoy.

Here

Amon Sul

Ready for some Black Metal weirdness from France? This is Amon Sul, a bizarre trio from Calais. They seem to be going for an Immortal sound on this 1995 tape, Goat Mit Uns, but are foiled by an obvious drum machine, fuzzy guitars, and odd keyboard flourishes. The results are mesmerizing. Things got confusing when the member 'Apostle of Despair' left Amon Sul and formed Vucub Came, who also released a demo called Goat Mit Uns with some of this same material on it. Amon Sul is supposedly active, but haven't recorded in over fifteen years. Shame really, with a run time of fourteen minutes Goat Mit Uns leaves me wanting more.

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Aaargh!

Scraps were from France, they only cared about playing fast and fucking up your system. They were so fucking French and nihilist they had a song called "I hate memories." The aptly titled Aargh! EP was released in 1987 on Aaltrack Records. This is the band's second EP, but they did manage to eke out three EPs, two LPs and a tape during their ten year run. I struggle to imagine anything more punk than this record, and that includes Rancid. Oh, and if you want one of these, Amoeba in San Francisco has it for $100.

Aaargh!

Brigade Internationale

The French synth-wave lust continues here on the Hearse. Brigade Internationale were a rather sullen bunch of art students who managed to release this one and only cassette, Regard Extreme, before disappearing into obsolescence like the keyboards and samplers used to make this recording. Now that cold wave is all cool again, maybe this will resurface as a reissue, but until that day comes you will have to settle for these tiny shrunken digital files.

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Ruth

Ruth was a strong contender for the title of best thing about the BIPPP comp posted some time back, so I thought my dear readers would enjoy hearing more from this early French synth wave trio of Thierry Muller, Phillipe Doray, and Ruth Ellyeri. Their LP Polaroid/Roman/Photo contains some hook-laden, ultra-cold, future-of-the -80s pop muzik filtered through the French psyche, especially the title track, which may well be one of the greatest songs of the decade. Some questionable bits along the way ("Mabelle") but the album closes with the epic "Tu M'ennuies," and you feel sated.

Here

Shub-Niggurath

Here's some dark Lovecraftian Zeuhl Prog from Shub-Niggurath. Shub-Niggurath hailed from France and were bong buddies with the seminal Magma. Imagine a jazz band condemned to play for an eternity in some smoky dive in R'lyeh or a Beksinski painting and you get an idea of Shub-Niggurath's immense and heavy trip. Confusing and menacing as their name implies. Essential.

Iä! Shub-Niggurath! Iä!!

BIPPP

This compilation of early French Synth Wave weirdness is absolutely stunning. Outmoded synths and e-drums float some of the most infectious hooks to put a smile on your dour mug. This is Franco-Robot pop music of the highest caliber. Every track is simply delicious but standouts come from Act, Comix, Ruth, Visible, and the fantastic Mary Möör (need more Möör.) Seriously, if you can't get behind this you might as well report to your nearest Sleepshop at once.

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Cendres

Cendres is a mysterious French Black Metal band that released only one buzzing misanthropic tape titled Ungeziefer. Harsh, repetitive, black miasmas slathered in cobwebs and filth. For nighttime listening only.

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Black Devil

This cocaine freakout of an album came up back when I posted Venus Gang's Galactic Soul album. This is perhaps my favorite drug-induced French space disco album, it makes all other drug-induced French space disco albums obsolete. Black Devil was the collaboration between two of France's leading names in French space disco, Bernard Fevre and Jacky Giordano. Of course Bernard Fevre has tried and tried again to capitalize on the minimal success that was Black Devil's Disco Club record, but nothing can trump the cough syrup Gallic funk of the original wax. Way fucked up.

Devil!

Venus Gang

Venus Gang was another creation of French superstar genius producer/composer Jean-Pierre Massiera, who was affiliated with Cosmic Hearse favorites, Rockets. For three decades Massiera masterminded a number of brilliant conceptual musical entities with a fondness for schlock sci fi and funky beats. Venus Gang was Massiera's attempt throw his beret into the ring of disco. Galactic Soul was Venus Gang's only album, but a number of minor hit singles ensued. Play this at your next future-of-the-seventies coke party and watch silver space panties hit the dance floor.

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Cythraul

Cythraul hail from Lorraine, France and play the sort of bizarre, distant, and poorly recorded evil you've come to love from all these frequent trips on the Cosmic Hearse. This 2001 demo is called Back From Darkness, even though the title implies some kind of comeback, this was Cythraul's only output. The vocals are much louder than everything else, giving this a weird, disjointed feel. After the release of this cassette the two members of Cythraul, Lord Arawn and Warspirit, formed the more politically motivated Sacrificia Mortuorum.

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Les Heavy Heads

Back to France. Hearse friend, Solana Diaz wanted to share this awesome comp of '70s Franco hard rock and proto-metal, called Tetes Lourdes. It's all pretty fucking neanderthal and fantastic, but standouts include Lover's Love, Little Sammy Gaha, and Tac Poum Systeme. Très haut, très lourd. Merci, Solana.

Obtenez Haute!