Review by Michael on January 9, 2024.

Sans-Visage and his black metal band Prieuré released the first full-length album Le Départ (Altare Productions) after having released a couple of EPs and splits in the past. This album is a huge step forward. Not because of the style which is kept in a very nice balance between pretty rough and melodic parts but mainly because of the very clean and well-produced sound.In the past the sound was much more demo-like but here you get the feeling that the faceless entity had a bigger budget to produce his music.

But not only the sound is much better than on the previous releases but also the songwriting is more sophisticated than before. The breaks in the songs are timed really well and 'L'homélie Du Crapaud' is a very good example how Sans-Visage switches between really raw black metal parts and atmospheric intermezzos. You get the impression that the music was well thought out from the beginning to the end. Talking about the black metal style, well, it is sometimes quite dissonant, hectic and peppered here and there with some punkish riffs and I would say that the French language which is screamed out with a lot of hate matches it all perfectly to stretch out this hasty and uncomfortable atmosphere. But the groovy parts with some real amazing tempo changes are the other facet in the more metal side of Le Départ which makes the album a really interesting thing. Combined together, this is a pretty challenging album which sometimes makes you feel pretty uneasy and uncomfortable because there isn't too much space to rest or calm down. When Sans-Visage unsettling vocals set in, you often get a certain feeling of desperation and restlessness.

There is always action in the five songs (plus intro) and the music always appears to be driven by some unstoppable dark force that wants to be expressed. But the album needs to be explored, this isn't an easy listening black metal experience like the last Immortal or whatever. This is challenging and sometimes hard to comprehend but once you get it, the album will grip you by the balls and won't let you get away so easily. Just take your time. It is like a good bottle of red wine (why do I always use the metaphor of red wine when I write about this band??) that has to age to develop its good taste.

Rating: 8 out of 10