Review by Felix on May 16, 2022.

Ossuaire’s first step was the “La diatribe infernale”, released in 2016. This was also the year the best Quebec album ever was published, Forteresse’s “Thèmes pour la rébellion”. Unfortunately, Forteresse did not enrich the world with another full-length since then. By contrast, the four-piece from Montréal never seems to sleep. Two full-lengths and one EP since 2016 – this constitutes a proud result.

By the way, “La diatribe infernale” is no typical métal noir québécois work. These endless streams of flowing guitar lines show up, but they are not omnipresent. In addition, the rumbling production prevents the kind of dark elegance that characterises the outputs of other artists from the Francophile metropolis / region. The (so-called) EP (rather a full-length) sounds almost like a demo. The balance between the single elements does not always work and a raw underground charm dominates the 34 minutes.

Ossuaire attack with pretty archaic weapons. With the exception of the plodding “L’incandescence du bucher”, they like high velocity. Moreover, they spit on technical nuances and – as nearly always – the early works of Quorthon (R.I.P.) have left their (black) mark on the sound of the Canadians. Surprising twists and turns did not let themselves be persuaded to participate. Instead, one always gets what the first tones of the tracks promise. Some trace elements of albums like “Transilvanian Hunger” also scream for attention. In particular the opening title track relies on the same aesthetics as the Darkthrone classic did. Due to the fact that the riffs and lines are good, but not outstanding, “Le diatribe infernale” does not blow me away. It came roughly 20 years too late to create a “wow”-effect and variety is written in small letters here. Nevertheless, it is a diabolic piece of coherently arranged music with a dark guitar tone and vicious vocals. And, as so often is the case, there is a certain degree of beauty in the here exhibited narrow-mindedness.

The EP benefits from a stylish package and its limitation to 500 copies almost gives me the feeling to listen to something rare and special. Yet this is nonsense. Ossuaire’s first sign of life was a good and above-average start, no more, no less –without outstanding highlights and without tracks for the bin. Besides, they prove once again that the normally soft-sounding French language suits BM better than I would have ever suspected before. And I am very proud that I can translate “Satan triomphe sur les idoles de Rome”! Well, that’s the last furious outburst here. The ambient outro (song 7) listed on M-A is not mentioned on my copy… Either way, those who like generic black metal without experiments cannot go completely wrong with this release.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10