Bonustrack Asphyx cover!!
Limited edition of 1000 hand-numbered copies housed in gatefold sleeve. Comes with a coupon for Osmose lottery!
First Imperial album released on LP in February 1998 by Osmose Productions.
One day in 1998, I had just bought the third issue of Hard Rock mag's special edition dedicated to the extreme scene, because at the time I was (like most of the metal world) very intrigued by the release of Cruelty and The Beast by Cradle Of Filth. And at the time, we were treated to a sampler that offered almost one track per album reviewed. The fourth track, Impérial and its Final Storm. A sound completely out of step with the other productions on the sampler, a hyper-saturated guitar sound, a rather discreet bass, and above all, a drum machine. Added to this is a totally disgusting, cadaverous voice that vomits out lyrics that are mostly in French and understandable (a near-impossible combo!).
This Final Storm is a vision of the end of the world that seemed entirely possible to me and even quite engaging. So I filled out the order form that came with the magazine (yes, young people!), sent it off by mail, and two weeks later I had Aux Crépuscules in my hands.
Before putting the record in my record player, I took a moment to admire the cover, which depicts the warrior resting, cigarette in mouth, puffing after a proper massacre. It's by comic book illustrator André Reina, author of Le Monde Des Dragons and brother of Skrow, the singer/bassist. It sets the tone for the album: the apocalypse is announced!
And off we go for forty minutes at full blast, the duo's formula remaining the same, and there's no respite for the listener. The tracks and riffs follow one another at lightning speed, even though thrash roots generally dominate this album. It's primarily the timbre of Skrow's voice that evokes black metal, and not so much the structure of the tracks or the type of riffing offered by Qojau. The trend is darker on their latest effort, Chaos.
So what makes an album, which could have been an anecdotal UFO, manage to make a name for itself? I think it's due to three aspects. First, the overall quality of the writing. The tracks are easily digestible, catchy, and then they're real, well-structured songs. Second, the lyrics, including the critical aspect of society, as in "Show Your Look" or "The Narcissist," are examples. They also know how to describe a form of darkness in the human soul, as in "The Red Moon" or "The Burnt Woman," or even disillusionment in "Un Adieu."
And finally, we feel that the band isn't there for anything other than fun. The latest track from Thrasheur 13 is a good-natured, schoolboyish, but terribly funny track. And this trend would continue on subsequent albums with tracks like J'ai Mangé Ta mère, Les Filles Mortes Ne Disent Jamais Non, and Hellfire.
Ultimately, what could have been just another album became a cult album for a number of metalheads. The hype surrounding this band allowed them to record other albums afterward. It's an album that's over twenty years old today, and I regularly dust off the dust because it has its own identity that I've never found in any other album by the band. And since you're never better served than by yourself, a little bit of the lyrics from Thrasheur 13 sums it up pretty well.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=mt57NExQB4w
