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Cauchemar - La Vierge Noire

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 December 7 2010 at 06:16:31 PM



“One Two Fukkk Ewe!” Canada’s Cauchemar (Fr: “Nightmare”) drops digit in retro pool with first mini el pee La Vierge Noire (Fr: “The Black Madonna”), a bona fides notable record for reasons completely unconnected to ever popular hard rock and occult Heavy Metal “renaissance.” Cauchemar distances itself from ubiquitous Scooby Doom by playing rootsy, gritty Heavy Metal mostly/deftly encapsulated/typified by Sabbath’s self-titled debut n Priest’s Rocka Rolla n Sad Wings of Destiny. Itsa strangey kinda heavy that for most dunderheads won’t be heavy tat tall. Heavy like Karloff’s Tales of Mystery, really, which is reader dependent, same way Blair Witch Project only worked if ya saw it cold turkey and were/are hardwired to want to scare your self shitless no matter external stimuli’s arguable effectiveness or lack thereof.

So besides opener “La Voile d’Isis (Fr: “The Veil of Isis”), which comes on much like Priest’s proto Speed Metal burner, “Exciter,” remainder is a music spacious n hypnotic, lending effect not of dreary motherfucking status quo mimesis but of an authenticity of existence so formidable n instantaneous, the music “must” have always “been,” aged to ancient, an obscure reissue of a reissue destined for history’s dustbin. Let this overheated n over-the-top declaration serve as crafty conspicuous caveat for brood that likes a little “professional dynamism” with requisite sigils n pentagrams n inverted cruciform. None of that here, sweetie, mostly cuz Cauchemar’s “workman’s gauge,” i.e. cut from non-ironic musings over adored sounds, clinking of mugs n changing of kegs punctuating omnipresent fuck-yes- “Nativity in Black” dicta.

Credit comrades Francois Patry (gtr) and Patrick Pageau (dr), who manage eerily perfunctory Tipton/Downing/Iommi/Ward interplay aplenty between them. Riffs unadorned, out in space, given room to ring and power songs ahead. Annick Giroux’ (that Annick) vocals are more matter-of-fact than silly en vogue abracadabra invocation of Coven n Black Widow, which allows the music to escape insufferable bullshit trappings that ultimately precede and overwhelm entire (brief n outclassed) discographies. Giroux comes off like Rosemary Butler doing her best Nico imitation: Teutonic-but-lively delivery intimating everyone’s creepy aunt who wore suede n leather and chunky turquoise jewelry, and always got you and other nephews and nieces scared witless shitless into darkened corners with ghost stories improvised from long solitary years spent hunkered down at home with gothic lit, too many cats, cheep wine n black candles.

Mmmmmmm as sun sets on “vanguard” Black Metal n HydraHeadish rehash, disposable incomers will warm practically insufferably to these sorta jams. Mark’m words, kind volk. S’okay by me. Retro rock done really right, i.e. Christian Mistress, Cauchemar right, isn’t really retro rock at all. It’s just rock n just works, McGurks, almost as enjoyable as stuffs these aforementioned rockers grew up on, head-phoned, smoked n snorted, assimilated n forthfuckingright became: “One Two Fukkk Ewe!”

[Stewart Voegtlin]

Cauchemar
La Vierge Noire
Nuclear War Now
2010

Related

- Hellbent for Cooking
- Interview: Annick Giroux

Comments (8)

  • 15 comments
    FF
    9:54 AM on Dec 08, 2010 // reply »
    do you know if she joined this band or was she always in the band? I remember her covering them a bunch in Morbid Tales.
  • 386 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    10:02 AM on Dec 08, 2010 // reply »
    Dunno. Annick, you around to answer this?
  • 5 comments
    ADD
    12:21 PM on Dec 08, 2010 // reply »
    rocka rolla woman nails it, great riffs too, thanks for the heads up!
  • 3 comments
    Satannick
    5:46 PM on Dec 12, 2010 // reply »
    Hey, thanks for reviewing the record Stewart! Glad you like it so much... and that you've obviously enjoyed the Slaughter reference haha

    FF, I actually never covered Cauchemar in Morbid Tales, except in the intro for #6, when I said that I was stopping the zine to concentrate more on my band. Cauchemar was formed by myself and guitarist Fran￧ois. Cheers!
  • 23 comments
    trumbum
    5:41 AM on Dec 13, 2010 // reply »
    really enjoying this. definitely has that vintage priest sound going on. magie rouge stuck in my head for days now.
  • 15 comments
    FF
    10:08 AM on Dec 13, 2010 // reply »
    huh. ok well I'll have to go back and revisit the zines it's been a while. anyway good luck with the band
  • 40 comments
    The Right Hand Path
    12:40 AM on Dec 14, 2010 // reply »
    I never ever thought that Annick would be a vocalist in a band, definitely a surprise. Congratulations Annick for the good reviews!
  • 3 comments
    Satannick
    8:11 AM on Dec 16, 2010 // reply »
    Thanks guys, really appreciated! I became the vocalist because we couldn't find anybody else that was willing to do it... haha! I also play bass on this MLP.
 

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