"The Puressence of Primitive Forests" is the third chapter of the Sorcier Des Glaces story, and was originally released in 2011. Recorded no less than 11 years after the previous album, the band's sound took a more old school and darker turn, a little less atmopheric while still being characterized by an extreme coldness, like an icy Nordic wind blowing.
This is the first album where the band says goodbye to keyboards, replacing them with a wall of lead guitars instead. Sorcier Des Glaces also pays tribute to the Hungarian band "Tormentor", with the cover of "Tormentor I".
Osmose Production's re-issue of 2011 album "The Puressence of Pimitive Forests".
released September 29, 2023
_________________________________
If you would bet on the genre which The Puressence of Primitive Forests suits, solely regarding the cover, most people would guess it’s post-black metal, as it is so gloomy and melancholic. That would be complete nonsense, since it’s a pure tribute to the mid-nineties black metal of norway. It only features the good sides though, so let’s take a look.
The debut record of Sorcier des Glaces was released back in 1998, to be a tribute to the “only true black metal”. It gained popularity and in contrast to the flood of outputs, that is especially popular in today’s black metal underground, they took eight years to release the next record named Moonrise in Total Darkness. As this gained popularity as well, it’s only logical to release another record, but it took again six years for it to be finished.
As soon as Deathlike Silence starts there is this incredibly fast and cold guitar sound coming out of your speakers and the drums are accompany with fast double-bass attacks and blast beats. As if this weren’t enough to get the full picture the vocals are kicking in only a few moments later and the mid-nineties black metal is perfected – pure nostalgia! It’s not really surprising that the song-structure won’t offer any surprises as it’s just straight forward. This doesn’t mean that there is only one riff, but you won’t see any progressivity or real breaks.
That’s good as it is, because no real lover of the oldschool black metal would want progessive tracks anyway. All songs on the record, except the cover maybe, follow this scheme and besides some sparsely sawn synthie- or acoustic-sounds the rustling, whimmering guitars give the note. This sound is, how else could it be, not crystal clear and offers a certain rawness without being to sludgy or undefined, so it’s really good. The aforementioned interludes are adding more variation to the songs and therefore the record which enhances the atmosphere many times over.
You nearly can hear the time it took for the record to ripen, as every song discerns from the other, but all are on the same level of quality. There is no real highlight on the record, but no really bad song as well. Instead, the record offers a good profile of the mid-nineties and you could easily be reminded of the early Immortal, Darkthrone or especially Dissection, without it sounding cribbed. The only real flaw is, nevertheless, the production. The drums are sounding too sticky, the snare lacks live and it could have been a bit more terse and louder.
Conclusion:
This record is pure power and the long warting time is rewarded easily. At least, if you know Sorcier des Glaces for so long, I myself am happy for founding them. They revived the black metal of the mid-nineties so authentically and multi-layered, that your jaw will drop, like real wizzards of ice! You HAVE to buy the record if you love nostalgia! /source