Trépas – L’héritage du monde

Label: Sepulchral Productions
Release date:  5-12-2019

Trépas, which means death in French, are a black metal band from Québec, Canada. For the uninitiated, when you say black metal and Québec in the same sentence, the first thing that should pop in your head is the rich Québécois black metal movement. Bands like Forteresse, Gris, Csejthe and several others, have created this characteristic atmospheric, melancholic, lo-fi, black metal sound, usually sung in French. That said, Trépas, is a project formed by members of Outre-Tombe (old-school death metal) and Morgue (blackened death metal), both bands who have gained prominence in the last decade. So where does Trépas fit in amidst all these varying influences?

After several spins of L’héritage du monde, the band’s debut album, I’d say they have their roots firmly fixed in the second wave of black metal but at the same time they borrow the melancholic vibe from the Québécois black metal sound. The band also experiments with acoustic and cleaner guitar passages. For most parts, Trépas, does sound very straightforward in their approach to black metal. You can expect to hear blast beats overlaid with melancholic tremolo black metal guitar picking. The album is well mixed and produced, the layers are quite discernible and by saying this, it is by no means mired by the plastic-y modern sound. The cleaner production doesn’t drown out the atmosphere but it enhances it during the acoustic guitar passages.

I do like what I hear on Trépas’ debut. I reckon it will appeal to black metal enthusiasts irrespective of their favored sub-sub-genre. The album opens with Rivages Sombres, a track which doesn’t beat around the bush. There is no weak sappy intro here and it hits you right on the chin with the constant blast-beats and the scathing hateful vocals. The tempo changes that you will hear midway in the track are a sneak-peak of the variety you’ll see what Trépas are capable of displaying. The title track L’héritage du monde and Charognes are tracks that feature some clean guitar picking, creating spacey atmospheric passages. Charognes is easily my favorite track on the album by a long shot. The transitions between the blast-beats and the slower sections are so sublime. The cleaner passage reminds me of the seminal work of bands like Alcest or Woods of Ypres. Errance, the last track on the album, opens up with a minute long acoustic guitar section and then follows a template that Trépas have created with other songs. The second half of the track is heavy on power chord progressions which remind me of the mighty Taake (a band that emerged immediately after the second wave of black metal). What caught me by surprise was the guitar solo, delightfully positioned in the third quarter of the track. Errance is the dessert to the main course that is L’héritage du monde. What said food analogies couldn’t be applied to black metal?

A huge shoutout goes to the vocalist, Goliatt, who does a commendable job on the album. The range in vocal styles from the typical shrieks, which was largely present, to the deathly growls to the shouts, removed any kind of monotony that the album could’ve suffered from. My major gripe with the album is that it’s only 39 minutes long. But that said, L’héritage du monde is easily consumable, palatable, widely appealing and demands repeated listens. I foresee the band gaining new heights and for starters, if you’re in Montreal (or the neighbouring areas) later this month, I’d highly recommend visiting the iconic black metal festival Messe des Morts IX, where Trépas would be performing.

Line up:

• Goliatt – Vocals
• Harfang – Guitars
• Orme – Guitars
• Fléau – Bass
• Averse – Drums

1 – Rivages Sombres
2 – L’Aube
3 – L’héritage du monde
4 – Charognes
5 – Trépas
6 – Errance

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