Ovtrenoir is the name behind a new-born collaborative of some known and lesser known names. The project was formed by photographer William Lacalmontie (vocals and guitars), Julien Taubregas (drums; known from The Great Divide), and Dehn Sora (guitars and backing vocals; a musician known from e.g. Treha Sektori or Sembler Deah, and visual artist as well). Soon they got joined by Angéline Seguelas on bass, and as a quartet they entered the Sainte-Marthe Studio in Paris with producer / mixer / master Francis Caste (think: Svart Crown, Deep In Hate, Hate Supremacy, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Loudblast and many, many more). The result is a five-track EP that lasts for almost half an hour.
With Eroded, Ovtrenoir bring an extremely heavy and performant form of Post-Hardcore / Sludge, with the intensity of the harsher Sludge-Doom outfits, the technical craftsmanship of the Post-Rock / Post-Metal scene, and the ideology of, well, let’s call it the Consouling Sounds identity.
Eroded can be defined as melodic and pushing, guitar-driven, timeless and modernistic, traditional and progressive at the same time; but however you want to put a stamp on it, it are the conviction and persuasion that are striking. All pieces are strongly empowered by massive guitar riffs especially, both tremolo-leading as rhythmically pounding, and all this gets supported by a truly mammoth’ish rhythm section. Bass lines, rhythm guitars and drums are so overwhelming and hammering, as if this whole album acts as a soundtrack for some factory-imploding after-party (???). I am truly impressed by the extraordinary execution of the drum patterns, for these ones are like an aural creation an sich, if you follow me. Most of the leads (and then I am referring to the soloing excerpts especially) are quite profound, yet never egoistically megalomania, offering us moments of hypnosis, introspection, extravagance and frenzy. The vocals, then again, are way too dull, permanently shouting on the very same level, the very same tone, and I am sure this will bother, even irritate, quite some listeners. I think a minor ‘extra’ on timbre could have been avoiding enervation or stress, but it’s not the case.
Anyway, Eroded turns out to be a monster production, and I guess that all listeners that follow this label, as well as the likes of Les Acteurs De L’Ombre, for example, will be attracted to this fabulous debut. Just listen to the ‘grand final’ of Outrenoir to notice my remarks…