No aggregate page for the Chambéry crew, but three scores drawing an honest range: 4/5 at The Headbanging Moose, 7/10 at RockMusicRaider, 3/5 at Angry Metal Guy. Call it a consensus around 7 for Monument aux morts, out on Transcending Obscurity — exactly the kind of label where a dissonant French black/death band belongs, and further proof the French extreme underground exports far beyond its borders.
What everyone agrees on: the texture. AMG praises « deeper, more nuanced compositions » and a « consistently frightening texture » reaching « thrilling, even darkly beautiful, shapes »; the Moose calls it « an exceptional album in the style », between an « aggressive, militaristic approach » and a « haunting, eerie atmosphere touched by dissonance »; RockMusicRaider finds « one of the tastiest morsels of abject extremes » it has crossed this year. « Linceul immense » and « Une cage d’os » appear on both highlight lists — start there.
What divides: length and loudness. Nearly an hour that, for AMG, blurs into an « indistinct mass »; a mastering RockMusicRaider deems monolithic to the point of sensory overload; and even the Moose winces at the outro « Austérité maximum ». The verdict holds: a band with « germs of dark brilliance » (AMG) that still needs to trim the fat. 7/10, and one more address on the map of French extreme metal.