Review by Fernando on September 8, 2025.

France never ceases to impress me when it comes to extreme or avant-garde music, and for better or worse, the influence of Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord is without a doubt one of the most enduring in modern extreme metal. This brings me into Ergholae Somptator. Hailing from Toulouse, at first glance, they can definitely be considered one of the many bands inspired by DsO to make experimental and angular black metal. However, while the influence is definitely present, they have definitely come a long way since their debut, and on their third opus, À Cor Et à Cri, they have definitely perfected their own sound.

The interesting thing about this record is how it’s only 3 tracks long, and the first and last are basically an instrumental intro and outro, respectively. The second track, clocking at over 23 minutes is the meat and bones of the whole record. While I will get into specifics of why this record is really good, this fact is definitely the hardest sell, and even I have to admit that I was left wanting more. On top of that, the entire album clocks at 30 minutes so it is a very compact but dense record. I do have to applaud the band’s decision to not overstay their welcome and show restraint, but considering how good their material is, I do wish they’d done another track, alas, I do respect their goal of making the record like this even if it’s both a hard ask for an under 25 minutes track, as well as an album on the shorter side a la prog rock records from the 70’s.

With that out of the way, the best aspect of the music is how the band’s music finds this perfect sweet spot between angular and elaborate compositions but with a very stripped back and minimalist instrumentation. 2 guys, guitars, bass, drums, vocals and that’s about it. And on À Cor Et à Cri, they perfectly distill their sound into, again, 23 minutes of pure ritualistic savagery.

Musically, the band still play their version of the avant-garde and angular black metal with some elements of progressive rock, but their true strength is an element of punk and thrash that’s subtle but very present. The band’s minimalist instrumentation by design makes them make the most of it, and as such, the music has a very strong sense of punk attitude, and their riffs also incorporate thrash picking which works perfectly for both the faster sections and the mid-paced sections.

The production also perfectly matches the music. It was handled by the band themselves; vocalist and percussionist Jérôme Bouquet and string handler Léo Louis-Honoré, the overall sound is clear but with a grittiness that feels organic, giving the music a raw but timeless quality, and the post-production courtesy of Sébastien “BST” Tuvi perfectly enhances the music while giving it a nice polished sheen without sanitizing or sterilizing the band whatsoever.

Overall, while this record is definitely not for the uninitiated or casual listeners, it is a record worth diving into, because of how good everything about it is. It’s a furious display of engrossing darkness that will definitely leave you wanting more, while also offering you a glimpse into an unknown niche.

Rating: 9 out of 10