SORTILEGE - METAMORPHOSIS 84 FRA rare english version on Steamhammer EVIL M-/EX+

$

26

CONDITIONS (VISUAL) (REC./COV.): .M-/EX+

NOTE: . WITH INNER SLEEVE

Cheese for gourmets - 95%

This is one album that I've listened to much, much more than the commonly required three times. I bought it in 1984 when it was fresh, and it's been a good companion and occasional joyful listen ever since.

I love this band, and this is their best album from their all too short discography. At the time, Sortilège was often cited together with bands like Heir Apparent or Crimson Glory, even Queensrÿche (of course, their old sound), in that their music built on the classic NWOBHM style that all those young musicians no doubt were huge fans of, but expanded on the sound in a similar direction - still more melodic (if possible), with a strong reliance on strong, well-executed falsetto or falsetto-ish singing where the singer acutally hit his notes, well-crafted classical-influenced guitar solos, and fantasy-related lyrical themes. Sound familiar? In fact, although the concept did not yet exist, you could call Sortilège embryonic power metal.

That said, there are some marked differences to the archetypical later power metal sound, and they are not at all bad. One, the tempos are slower on average which gives the music room to actually explore some possibilities instead of hurrying through the songs on breathless, never-ending double bass drumming and bland power chords strummed in the same pattern for song after song. There are still riffs here, and they're very good riffs at that. There are slower, doomy passages in titles like Hymne à la Mort or Cyclope de l'Étang; there is a surprising tempo change in the middle of the title song. At the other end of the spectrum, Civilisation Perdue is downright thrash, short, punky, and intense, and shows that Christian Augustin can't just sing like a genius, he can scream fit to split your ears. Then again, there are half-ballads - the aforementioned Hymne à la Mort and a piece of really first class French cheese (pun intended) called Délire d'un Fou, the ravings of a delusional megalomaniac about to undergo lobotomy "pour ne plus avoir de mauvaises idées". Cheese, I say, and doubtless the lyrical content not just of this song is quite unadulterated camembert, or roquefort, if you like. Aliens - sirens - cyclopses - metamorphoses into giant bugs - ancient city rulers sentencing their poor oppressed people to death in the circus - all that you could want for an evening of watching movies with your ten year old little cousin - it's all there. It's a good laugh and good clean fun. For their heavy reliance on sandal movie themes (you know - like Hercules and the Amazons), even more pronounced in their follow-up "Larmes de Héros", I sometimes like to call Sortilège "sandal metal".

Christian Augustin, the singer, and Stéphane Dumont, the lead guitarist, are top-notch, and it is a shame that none of them has gone on to a great career. Augustin sings wonderful, expressive, hyper-melodic vocal lines with quite inventive melodies that you don't get to hear on every corner today. He switches without effort from a tenor-like power-metalish voice to a quite impressive falsetto performed with more pressure, strength and melodic sureness than most normal power metal faux-hero tenors can muster; though he sings a little softer and less over-precise, comparisons to Geoff Tate and even Rob Halford are in order. Dumont shreds like Eddie Van Halen, by whom he is doubtless influenced, and in between his crazy, virtuoso, melodic shred orgies he finds talent to play one creative, original riff after the other. When both come together, as in the middle part of Délire d'un Fou, just before the heavy bridge leading from the solo break to the last verse, where Dumont plays a mournful solo as Augustin does the almost impossible and screams his head off melodically, that is, to use a hackneyed but fitting phrase, pure sonic orgasm. From time to time this part still sends chills down my spine even 24 years later, and that's not another cliché, but the truth.

The other members are competent, no more, no less, and provide the necessary background for Augustin's and Dumont's talents. The songwriting is almost flawless, far more creative than your average power metal hacks, though some of today's listeners may take issue with the length of some of Dumont's solos, who clearly loves his shredding; but it was nothing out of the normal back then, and certainly nothing compared to some stuff by Manilla Road. One or two tempo changes I would have placed differently, maybe - the one in the title track comes out of left field and detracts from the track somewhat, but as compensation you're treated to impressive vocal acrobatics in the song's finale (how long can this guy hold his breath??).

If any track could be called filler, it's the somewhat flat instrumental Nuit des Limbes at the end of side one of the original vinyl record; and Cyclope de l'Étang is not overly impressive, it's just there and the closest that Sortilège come to provide "standard fare" on this album. But it's more than adequately compensated for by standout stuff like the speed metal attack opener D'ailleurs, the doomy Hymne à la Mort, the thrashing Civilisation Perdue, the almost-epic Métamorphose and the glorious cheesefest Délire d'un Fou.

Highly recommended to anyone into 80's melodic metal and not afraid of a little silliness and good-humored entertainment.

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THE RECORD IS LOCATED IN ITALY

My grading scale is :  M-, EX, VG+,VG, G

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Record Collector Magazine Grading System

MINT The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

POOR The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.