No, this is not a French band, but oddly enough, these guys are from Poland. After having received prais in the underground scene back in 2008, Haxan is being re-issued for worldwide distribution.
The word Ghoules (Goules in fact) means demon women hanging around cemetery to devour cadavers. Weird isn't it? Well this is the word to remember about this act too. Basically a black metal band, Cultes des Ghoules used a raw sound production to express their twisted music being played in a somewhat clumsy fashion. The guitar work is more or less a buzzing sound in the background that does some first row appearances while doing leads and arpeggios. The drumming is also a bit shy whereas the bass and especially the vocals are upfront. Those are not the usual type of rasps either, but more closely related to the spoken form and bearing a certain ritualistic vibe on occasions. The vocals are largely responsible for that weirdness and sense of mysterious omnipresent on this album. To increase the strangeness of their art, they have included some samplings, mostly vocals) screams, cries and laughers) but also rain, thunder and bells. Haxan is often going at fast paces, although the moderate and mesmerizing tempo is very frequently showing up too. A couple of those pieces of madness caught my attention: "Baptized by Barron" and "Stregoica Dance". Closing track "The Impure Wedding" also has its moments at the beginning (bells, ritualistic tones, deep growls etc…)
Haxan is bound to please the ones into weirdness in extreme music.
Track listing:
1- Baptised in Barron
2- The Covenant and the Sacrifice
3- Stregoica
4- Scholomance
5- The Impure Wedding
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