ARPHAXAT Loudun La Mandite CD (2008)

French black metal has always operated in its own dimension, somewhere between historical obsession and total atmospheric annihilation. Arphaxat fit that tradition like a funeral shroud.

Loudun La Mandite takes its name from the 17th century Loudun possessions, one of the most notorious cases of alleged mass demonic possession in French history, the same events that inspired Ken Russell's The Devils. It's exactly the kind of subject matter that separates French black metal from its peers: not fantasy, not vague Satanic imagery, but specific, documented historical horror with deep roots in the soil. The album delivers raw, atmospheric black metal with a cold, ecclesiastical dread running through it. Arphaxat aren't a household name, but Loudun La Mandite is the kind of release that serious collectors of underground black metal know about, and that's the only currency that matters in this genre.

CD format. 2008 pressing. French black metal.

Fans of: Deathspell Omega, Vlad Tepes, Mutiilation, Funeral Mist.