Black Murder were a short-lived group, spanning only two demos from 1993-6. They were also a part of the mysterious French Black Metal collective Les Légions Noires. 2/3 of their members were also in Vlad Tepes. This is their second demo, being later reissued multiple times. Feasts is a short demo at around 26 minutes long, originally released on single-sided cassette.
Dead Sex is an effective intro with mostly simple riffs accompanied by raspy screaming. It's one of the best songs on the tape, though it could've used more theatrics as it feels like it's trying to do that but not enough. Despite its roots in second wave BM, this release often has more first wave influenced riffs and song structures, often feeling quite Thrash-inspired. It gives the demo some extra flavor as in general it's just standard raw BM, albeit very well done. The recording quality is rough which I of course don't mind but it does lead to the drums sounding very muted on many tracks, which doesn't work when they're trying to be less atmospheric. It's too fuzzy for my taste, slightly taking away from the riffs. The Last Supper is a standout track, with a great set of riffs near the end and the most energetic vocals on the release. Right after that is another highlight, Tower of Tortured Ones. It's the most atmospheric track of the bunch sounding more in line with what their peers were doing across the sea in Scandinavia. Despite that, it still carries the pulsating anger that seeps through the music's entire runtime. La traque is a strange folkish interlude leading into another solid track.
This is a solid demo, steeped in mild dissonance and low fidelity. It could've benefited from slightly better mixing to make certain instruments more clear. Maybe a few more tracks too to make it more complete, but as it stands it's a nice peek into the French BM scene at the time. It reminds me that I should start looking into this collective again as what I've heard from it so far is solid stuff. Some of the most tortured sounding vocals in the genre of this period accompanied by memorable riffs.
8/10
See also: Vlad Tepes, Belkètre, Mütiilation
- kreyzi
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