Epic, instrumental doom heavyweights from Belgium’s BRIQUEVILLE (Pelagic Records) have teamed up with us to give you the first listen of their massive, multi-layered track called “Akte V”, the opener for their new 3-track opus called “II”, slated for a September 29th release via Pelagic Records. The lengthy track delivers nearly everything fans of progressive post metal desire in a return: some familiarity, lots of innovation, and dense vast atmospheres to get lost in. BRIQUEVILLE have managed to bring in a broader repertoire of tones and multidimensional spaces than their debut record, bridging various dynamic fluctuations and mesmerizing sundscapes with crushing, noise filled assaults that emphasize the constant state of movement. Hopefully they will encourage some of the clones to expand beyond the tired template of more recent progressive metal productions.
Pre-order links: CD / VINYL / BUNDLE.
B R I Q U E V I L L E is a band shrouded in mystery. On stage, they create an instrumental mantra of spooky guitars, modified field recordings and eery sampled chants. These meditative build-ups, based on the perseverant element of repetition, are contrasted with and ripped apart by sudden, unforeseeable outbursts of the purest and sheerest heaviness.
The black Nazgûl-robes and golden masks that all B R I Q U E V I L L E members wear on stage give their presence the air of an occult ritual… but B R I Q U E V I L L E are not chasing (a) GHOST; in fact they have worn their masks for 10 years plus, and even do so during rehearsals. The anonymity creates equality, and prevents a cult of personality… and makes it easier to swap out band members without anyone noticing.
Members of B R I Q U E V I L L E were active in various other bands from the local jazz, electro and metal scene, when they met over 10 years ago in a school building, with the ambition to improvise around one single note. „In order to do this anonymously and have the audience concentrate on the music, we decided to play with masks”, a band member explains. When they got out of the building after that session, they ran into an old man who told them a story of a son murdering his father right at the entrance of that school, many years ago. He pulled out a newspaper article to legitimize his story, before he disappeared.
„That story stuck with us. We kept asking ourselves why someone would keep an article recounting a patricide in their wallets for seventy years. We couldn’t help but conclude this man we’d met must have been the son. Maybe our imagination was just doing overtime, but the grandparents of one of our band members confirmed the murder had happened… however, we were unable to trace the old man.”
This ludicrous story has ever since served as inspiration for the band’s pounding sound. It wasn’t until 2014 that B R I Q U E V I L L E released their self-titled debut album, four tracks that all conclude around the 10 minutes mark. Upon release, the band buried 20 copies at various locations across the country, and gradually released the coordinates on their facebook page, animating fans to dig them up from the soil. The idea was met with great enthusiasm among their quickly growing fanbase, and will be revisited and extended for the release of Briqueville’s mesmerizing 2nd album, aptly titled „II“, which is to be released on September 29.
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