Review by Dominik on January 22, 2025.

If you ever went on a holy (or rather unholy) quest to find the perfect symphonic/melodic black metal album—congratulations! You can stop searching. Or maybe not. Seth's latest release, La France Des Maudits, is a perfect example why 100% perfection in composition, presentation and execution does not necessarily lead to a 100% satisfaction when listening to the outcome. It is a fascinating case study in why meticulous planning and flawless performance don't always result in an emotionally gripping album. The visual aesthetic, be it the CD cover, the cover inlet or published videos is perfect. Everything here is planned to the last detail: the production which is as polished as a guillotine blade before the revolution, or the arrangements—nothing has been left to chance. Every note, every transition, every vocal inflection feels deliberate. And yet, despite all this something feels…off.

It reminds me of my own writing process sometimes: obsessively fine-tuning, overanalyzing, and going through one last unnecessary revision to make sure everyone will love my reviews as much as I do. Of course, this can be a treacherous approach. When you spend too much time "perfecting" something, you risk becoming the only person who truly enjoys it. La France Des Maudits seems to have fallen into this very trap. The problem that I see with this album is best described as following: the release is so "obsessed" with being perfect that it forgets to be dangerous. It's like a vampire who has spent too much time perfecting his seduction technique that he forgot to actually bite his victim.

At first, it's not obvious. The album kicks off with immense promise. It opens with three powerful tracks, showcasing a band that knows exactly what it's doing. "Et Que Vive Le Diable!" ("And long live the devil!"), which follows a strong opener, explodes with the strongest riff of the album, the vocals dripping with venom and sharp precision creating an electrifying first minute. It is a masterclass in tension and aggression that is pinning you to the backrest of your seat. Then, as you begin to settle into your chair, ready for the full-force impact… it all starts to deflate. The track loses the initial intensity, still well-crafted but no longer carrying the same weight. Strong guitar lines and very accurate drumming collide with short operatic choral bursts as the energy fizzles out, and the song starts meandering, still captivating enough but suddenly lacking the urgency that made its opening so compelling. "La Destruction Des Reliques" ("The destruction of relics") follows a similar path: an excellent first half that eventually succumbs to unnecessary piano passages and a drop in tempo that sacrifices energy without gaining atmosphere in return. At this point, you begin to notice a pattern: Seth seems so focused on making everything just right that they forget that black metal, at its best, thrives on a sense of unpredictability and raw emotion.

After this promising but inconsistent start, the album takes a dive. The next three tracks remain technically flawless but lack individuality. They glide past without leaving much of an impression, their precision working against them rather than in their favor. "Marianne", in particular, is one of those instrumental interludes that likely serves some conceptual purpose as part of Seth's grand vision. Unfortunately, that purpose is lost on me. Instead of enhancing the album's narrative, it disrupts the flow. It feels more like a speed bump than an integral piece of the journey—worse still, it's not even particularly original.

The good news? La France Des Maudits does regain some of its initial fire towards the end. "Insurrection" reintroduces that much needed urgency and, while overly long, finally dials back on the artistic self-adsorbed proliferation and presents itself as a more straight-forward affair. The closing track, even lengthier, follows suit with a slightly more melodic angle. What needs to be highlighted for both songs is the vocal performance—unrestrained, expressive, and perfectly in sync with the emotions the music is meant to convey.

My conclusion: While striving for the highest quality may be important, perfection can sometimes do more harm than good. Seth should have adopted a better balance – focusing on excellence is ok, when you know when to let go. Sometimes imperfection adds character and authenticity that in my case would have resonated better with me. La France Des Maudits shows that perfection is not always a virtue. The band has crafted an album that is as polished and calculated as a royal court intrigue, but in doing so, they've lost some of the reckless spirit that makes black metal truly gripping. The result is an undeniably high-quality release that still feels like a missed opportunity. That said, it does show slight improvement over its predecessor. If the trend is our friend and the band continues in this direction—perhaps allowing for a bit more spontaneity along the way—there may be something truly spectacular on the horizon.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10, because perfection is a double-edged sword, and Seth just cut themselves with it.

Review by Jeger on June 16, 2024.

France’s Seth! Underrated and criminally overlooked until recently with the release of their La Morsure Du Christ LP that awakened us all into the bliss of churchly incinerations on a massive scale! The crumbling of great cathedrals and the dawning of a new age of wisdom and illumination. And some damn fine black metal, too. My choice for 2021 album of the year - a landmark record - one that represents everything that is great about the French scene: elegance, eloquence and prestige… Now, we find ourselves just months away from yet another triumph out of Seth. On July 14, our beloved desecrators of the faith will unveil their highly-anticipated brand new LP, La France Des Maudits, once again through Season Of Mist. 

Seth have chosen once again to record their material in French, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. What a rich compliment to the music. The ethos! The grandiosity of it all converging into this epic black metal experience. Savory melodies set to smooth double-bass currents and fluid tom rolls. So much to absorb as far as the visceral components of the record: somber, triumphant and soulful - a fists-clenched, eyes closed type of an album - passion igniting like wildfire under every passage and blazing into an atmosphere alive with subtle symphonic elements. Fiendish vocals: desperate and loathing to contrast otherwise gorgeous black metal rife with chorales and majestic tremolo riffs in memorable album cuts like 'Paris Des Maléfices' and 'Et Que Vive Le Diable !'. 'Dans Le Coeur Un Poignard' - a commanding performance! Godlike riffing passages booming atop the thunder of a thousand drums it seems. Gravitational bass parts and just the majesty of it all; a feast of fire for the pyro! An awe-inspiring contribution to this opus. Black metal on the world-class tip, no compromise and no comparison. Quite simply on their own plateau, soon to be Alpine vantage o’er the scene. And if the jaw-dropping 'Insurrection' in all of its malevolent glory doesn’t tantalize your sweet spot then nothing will. An album for the curmudgeonly purist? Not today. This is black metal deserving of all the modern trim; a grande ceremony! A commemorative toast to the death of all that is holy and realized through cutting edge recording techniques. 

To see Seth backed by such a fine label and producing such formidable albums is the way it should be. It’s what they deserve and it’s what they’re capable of. A band so deserving of notoriety now getting their just kudos. An album in La France Des Maudits that demands the respect of critics and the envy of artists to propel them into a horizon ablaze by the inferno of a thousand churches. Champions of the unholy war and vandals to all that is sacred. Let the blasphemies commence! 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10