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French Metal


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Hi Guys, 

Since I am French, I thought I'd start a topic on French Metal. I feel that we have some relevant bands, that some of you might appreciate.

Of course all of you know Gojira, which is probably our best export since baguettes. But let me tell you about some other bands I like. Bear in mind I have left France 15 years ago, so some of these will not necessary be current, and some of them might not event exist anymore.

Psykup:

I love that band. It is some crazy metal fusion weird stuff with a lot of screetching. They sing in English and French, some songs in one or the other, sometimes both. They have a great sense of humour, and are accomplished musicians. They are somewhere between System of A Down and Sikth. They split up about 5 years ago, as they struggled to make a living out of music, but have recentlty reformed, and did a funding campain to re-release their 1st album remixed / remastered. They said that if this was a successful campain, they will start working on new music. They were successful, so watch this space:

 

 

Watcha:

 Watcha is no more. They stopped their activity end of 2000s. Probably for the best as they started to go poppy and suck (in my opinion), bar their very last album, which was more brutal, but didn't grab me. They started out in the late 90s, and their first album was very inspired by Korn (bass sound / singing). They sing mostly in French, but I found their stuff quite groovy:

 

 

Loudblast:

I do not know Loudblast very well, but they were the French Sepultura. They did find some international success back in the 90s. They split up for a long time, but I heard that they released a new album in 2014.

(actually listening to the tracks I posted, I might actually listen to them!)

 

Gnô:

This is a pop / metal band, which I love to bits. Their (now ex) guitarist is a very good friend of mine, called Christophe Godin. He is for sure the best French guitarist out there. He is a virtuoso, shreds like there's no tomorrow, and is also a very funny and nice guy. They qualify their music as "Pantera meets the Beatles". Very hooky choruses, and very heavy riffs. I saw them many times live, and actually went to Paris especially for their gigs.

 

 

Morglbl:

The other (and current) project of Christophe Godin, but with other musicians. It is an instrumental trio of "Jazz metal". They are full of humour, and the virtuosity of each member is mind numbing. I usually hate instrumental stuff, but their write their stuff just like a song. It is weird, it is funny, and it is fab on stage. They tour the US occasionally, and have played in various prog' festivals, and have been noticed and invited on several occasions there:

 

 

Of course there are shit loads. These are amongst those I listen to. I thought they're worth mentioning, and hopefully this will help them get them more international fans!

:)

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Oh swell. Now I'll have to add much new stuff to my already way too long "shit that I need to buy" list. I really like that jazz-metal fusion thing ... which fits like a glove with how I perceive French music to be, in a general kind of sense. (I used to be a light and sound technician for both music and theatre -- with a strong preference for the Twilight Zone that is the theatre world -- and have some very fond memories from a tour in France in 1992, which included the Eclat festival in Aurillac, where I made friends.)

If you don't mind travelling a bit back in time, I'd recommend going all the way back to 1969, when the French band Les Variations released their outstanding "Nador" album (the band consisted of musicians with Moroccan and Algerian backgrounds), which was quite heavy for its time ... but of course also psychedelic and whatnot.

 

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