CREATURE “Eloge de l’Ombre”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Been hearing a ton of French bands lately, but CREATURE are surely the strangest. However, that comes with the territory when you realize they are on the I, Voidhanger label, who are well known for strange and avant-garde content.
The band is definitely metal in form, but using techniques from well outside the genre. The songs are fairly compact, which is a plus, and really progressive, with odd angular riffs, strange time shifts and a kind of dark, nervous feeling throughout. There’s also an overwhelming “Frenchiness” to the band that goes beyond the French lyrics...hard to describe, but you will definitely feel it even in parts with no vocals. Piano and synthesizer are prominently used and the vocal tones are all over the place. I could dig into the idiosyncrasies of each song but that would be tedious. You have to expect the unexpected with CREATURE.
Does it all work? Not for me, I must say. The first half of the album tends to be more on the metal side and also a bit easier to get into. As the album rolls on, the keyboards take over and the vocal experiments become trying to listen to. That’s heard nowhere better than the dreadful title track, which is some sort of French noir rap music. I’d rather gargle diarrhea than listen to this abomination again. But this is the worst of the album by far and there are interesting gems like “Meteorite” to tweak your mind.
It’s an extremely French trip into strange waters...definitely unique but not 100% successful.