Csejthe
Réminiscence
Eisenwald
2013
Were I to guess where this band comes from, I would definitely choose Scandinavia and possibly Norway. To my amazement, Csejthe are from Quebec, Canada. Obviously the guys have spent hours listening to Scandinavian black metal music and that turned out to be for their own benefit as it seems. This is the band’s sophomore release, which comes about 4 years after their debut “La Mort du Prince Noir”. Nowadays Csejthe are a three-piece band, as only, the drummer Fiel & the guitarist Strigat, who has also taken care of the vocals, have been left from the original line-up. There’s also a new guitarist, Bardunor (Crépuscule, Hiverna, Monarque), on board.
“Reminiscence” has all those features that made black metal very popular in the beginning of the 90s. It is dark, cold, old-school, sick but it also has lots of atmospheric & melodic elements. The band is still fond of Elizabeth Bathory whilst they get their inspiration from her envious actions back in the day. After all, Csejthe is the name of the castle where Countess Bathory used to torture, chasten & assassinate her victims. Keeping their sound “raw”, a tad old-school and “muddy”, and with the addition of those chaotic & bizarre vocals, they do manage to create the apt glum, emotionless & uncanny atmosphere they were up to.
With this second release, Csejthe reminds us that black metal music is not only a Scandi-thing and that other bands can be in the game efficaciously. Even though I kinda prefer my black metal, more tuneful, ambient and atmospheric, these days, I did enjoy this album. If they pick to go more melodic & atmospheric in their next releases, then I believe they can make an opening to a bigger audience as well. Nonetheless, “Réminiscence” is a very strong album that will, indisputably, gratify all the black metal devotees out there…
“Reminiscence” has all those features that made black metal very popular in the beginning of the 90s. It is dark, cold, old-school, sick but it also has lots of atmospheric & melodic elements. The band is still fond of Elizabeth Bathory whilst they get their inspiration from her envious actions back in the day. After all, Csejthe is the name of the castle where Countess Bathory used to torture, chasten & assassinate her victims. Keeping their sound “raw”, a tad old-school and “muddy”, and with the addition of those chaotic & bizarre vocals, they do manage to create the apt glum, emotionless & uncanny atmosphere they were up to.
With this second release, Csejthe reminds us that black metal music is not only a Scandi-thing and that other bands can be in the game efficaciously. Even though I kinda prefer my black metal, more tuneful, ambient and atmospheric, these days, I did enjoy this album. If they pick to go more melodic & atmospheric in their next releases, then I believe they can make an opening to a bigger audience as well. Nonetheless, “Réminiscence” is a very strong album that will, indisputably, gratify all the black metal devotees out there…