Asylum Pyre – N°4
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
“The world is changed”. These are Galadriel’s words in the intro to the movie “The Lord of the Rings”. This also applies to the French band Asylum Pyre. The only constant in the band structure is founder and mastermind Johann Cadot. All other current band members have only been part of the lineup since 2016/2017. Three and a half years after “Spirited Away”, the band returns with a new album. For the predecessor I had awarded 8 out of 10 points. Now I’m curious if the new lineup will be able to maintain the high level.
Asylum Pyre sound the same, yet different. This is mainly due to the new woman at the microphone. The voice of Oxy Hart is at times insinuating, beguiling then rocking hard again. But growls are not her profession, these come on the current album obviously from bandleader Johann Cadot. You can clearly hear that from the intro “Lullaby For The Clairvoyants” as well as the seamlessly following opener “One Day”. The melodic catchy tunes have a great recognition, even in 2019. In addition, also industrial gadgets can be heard. Johann also sings in a clear voice. This duo Ombeline / Johann fits perfectly together. A duet can also be heard in my opinion the best song of the album. The vocal partner in “Sex Drugs and Scars” is Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast In Black). The chorus of this straight rock song invites you to sing along. A small but beautiful guitar solo refines the whole. “Dearth” starts with bitter growls, fast, hectic guitar melodies and ahead dashing drums make sure that this is probably the hardest song of the album. Often Industrial elements are placed at the beginning of the songs (“Into The Wild”, “MCQ Drama”). Or the vocals are alienated (“borderline”). Towards the end it becomes something mainstream again with “The Broken Frame”. Strings accompany the singers here at times. The guitars provide a lot of melody. The final song “The Cemetery Road” could have been also on the predecessor. Asylum Pyre sounds almost as they did four years ago. Nostalgia? Anyway, for me this song is one of the highlights of the album.
At the beginning I wrote: Asylum Pyre sound the same, yet different. There are all the trademarks that have characterized the band in recent years. Beautiful melodies, hard guitar riffs, sophisticated solos, excellent vocals. But the compositions are partly more complex, sometimes more complicated. That makes the difference to “Spirited Away”. In the accompanying text of the label sound is appropriately called Modern Power Metal. Different styles are incorporated here, so the songs often have a progressive touch. The listener is forced to listen intensively. The world is changed. Musically, the French have evolved. They have changed the sound but kept the high level.
Asylum Pyre – Sex, Drugs and Scars: https://youtu.be/U0WYLbQjYGs
Lineup:
Ombeline Duprat aka Oxy Hart – Vocals
Johann Cadot – Guitars, Vocals, Programming
Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson – Guitars
Fabien Mira – Bass
Thomas Calegari – Drums
Label: M & O Music
Out: April 26th 2019
Playing time: 49:27
Track list:
- Lullaby For The Clairvoyants
- One Day
- Sex Drugs and Scars (Feat BEAST IN BLACK’s Yannis Papadopoulos)
- Lady Ivy
- On First Earth
- Dearth
- Into The Wild
- MCQ Drama
- Borderline
- The Right To Pain
- The Broken Frame
- The Cemetery Road
Rating : 8/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
