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Lugubrum: Face lion face oignon

21/02/12 || gk

Belgium’s Lugubrum has been plying its odd ball black metal since 1992 and “Face Lion Face Oignon” is the bands ninth full length. Lugubrum initially tried to keep their jazz and world music influences separate from the black metal but eventually arrived at a stage where all of their influences merged into a cohesive whole. 2008’s “Albino de Congo” is a personal favourite with the band incorporating African percussion into their black metal and jazz sound and even supposedly traveling to the Congo before recording the album.

Now, what we have here is Lugubrum’s latest album. “Face Lion Face Oignon” has all of the now familiar Lugubrum trademarks. The Mr. Bungle-esque playfulness, the avant garde jazz influences, the mostly laid back black metal that shouldn’t work but somehow does and another eccentric vocal performance that blurs the line between originality and parody.

Right from album opener “El Arish” and its intro of a strumming banjo and gurgled vocals I knew I was going to like this. This is familiar territory for Lugubrum fans but might come as a bit of a shock to newcomers expecting traditional black metal. The song effortlessly moves into a more black direction with the guitars replicating the odd melody that the banjo played and vocalist Barditus turns in a typically over the top performance that sounds like a drunken rasp. “Gaza” starts off just a bit more traditionally but it isn’t long before the off kilter riff kicks in and a jazzy instrumental jam takes the song to a completely different level. “Jaffa” is my favourite song on the album. It starts with a beautiful, soft opening and spoken word vocals before a catchy acoustic riff and some baritone vocals lead it into heavier territory. “Acre 1” has an addictive melody going for it that can get stuck in your head for days and uses multiple vocal layers to create a thoroughly unsettling atmosphere. “Mont Tabor” is black metal meets Mr. Bungle with its dissonant riffing and stop start approach. The album closes with “Acre II” which in anybody else’s hands could have been a doomy atmospheric song but with Lugubrum is off kilter, with riffs changing all the time and another appropriately odd vocal performance before ending with the sounds of a marching band.

There really isn’t another band in the world that sounds like Lugubrum. Sure Furze and his odd take on traditional black metal comes somewhat in the same spectrum but Lugubrum are accomplished musicians. The rhythm section alone could give most black metal bands an inferiority complex with its subtleties and the way in which the bass manages to enhance the main guitar riff without actually following it. The incorporation of a banjo and the alto sax is done in a manner that I can only describe as organic and its rare for an extreme metal band to be able to fit in so many disparate non-metal or rock influences into one cohesive whole. However, Lugubrum has been doing it for a while now and while “Face Lion Face Oignon” might not be as good as “Albino de Congo” its still a damn good album. If you’re looking for black metal that is way off the beaten path and a band that is doing something completely different then Lugubrum might be it.

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Aphelion Productions
Website: Lugubrum MySpace
Band
Barditus: vocals
Midgaars: guitars, banjo
Noctiz: bass
Svein: drums, keyboards

Tracklist
01. El Arish
02. Gaza
03. Jaffa
04. Acre I
05. Mont Tabor
06. Acre II

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