Drastus
Roars From The Old Serpent's Paradise

France has a peculiarity that sets it apart from most other countries: despite its groups never having enjoyed great fame, it has had an important and productive scene for at least 15 years (the legendary Black Legions), which saw an initial period dominated by Mutiilation, Gestapo666, Malleus Maleficarum (and others), and a contemporary one featuring standout bands such as Funeral Mist, Deathspell Omega, Merrimack, Onskapt (what is commonly referred to as "Religious Metal").

To this scene, it is necessary to contrast all the local realities that have orbited around it or have formed separate nuclei: the Avignon-based Celestia, the Norman Blut Aus Nord, the Toulon-based Kristallnacht, and finally the Lyonese Crystalium. Instead, from the western area of the country (Loira Atlantica) come three very interesting bands, linked to different nuances of the same sound: CYT, dedicated to traditional black, Hostis, a dark-ambient one-man band, and our Drastus, a solo project by the guitarist of CYT. If we consider that the three bands revolve around four individuals, we realize that defining these realities as a "scene" is too daring: the technical value demands at least an in-depth look.

This "Roars From The Old Serpent's Paradise" (2005) is Drastus's first work, which alone refines a sound filled with negative and bleak atmospheres, supported by a remarkable work on the guitars and an uncommon originality, for a debuting band as well as an established one. Seven tracks that convey to the listener a sense of abnormal desolation, played for once on very fast rhythms, which create a contrast with the traditional slowness that has been adopted by many Depressive offerings. The very definition of Depressive is limiting, as from a lyrical point of view, the decadent aspect remains, but it is expressed through a symbolic, almost metaphysical imagery, which has little in common with most of today's offerings; perhaps this is due to the fact that following the initial phases of the sub-genre, a variety of ways to express existential discomfort has been reached.

The album has no dead points: of the seven tracks that compose it, at least four are masterpieces, and represent the core (also from the point of view of track-list placement) of the album; these are interspersed with instrumental tracks, which navigate between Dark-Ambient moments, Rumoristic points, and Industrial moments. The tracks instead that characterize Drastus' style move along Black Metal coordinates very close to industrial sounds. I hope this clarification does not alert the detractors of modern sounds, as the Frenchman has nothing to do with the so-called Industrial Black Metal, which often relegates the futuristic component to mere aesthetic entertainment or even worse, to an element of "disturbance", affecting the structure of the riff.

Drastus's formula instead sees the perfect integration between the industrial side and the metallic side: the electronic part harmoniously blends with the riff structure, giving it a very cold and sharp aspect, connected to post-atomic, desperate, very dark sounds. The drum machine lays out tight and fast rhythms, in great harmony with the alien spirit of the music. The voice represents a favorable and painful point at the same time: a low and dirty growl, occasionally emerging from the shadows, offering suffocating and oppressive moments. However, the practical aspect of the matter needs to be reviewed, as the singing is not always up to the level of the excellent music. Despite these imperfections, some solutions leave room for maturation, like the clean vocal parts. Another aspect to improve is the composition of the Ambient and instrumental parts, still too unripe compared to the other tracks, which already show a higher degree of completeness.

Nevertheless, it remains a record that in its own way is already fundamental, and lays the groundwork for the definitive consecration of the project. All this obviously hidden and concealed by magazines and specialists.