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artist: Vehemence
title: Assiégé pour l'éternité
year: 2026
genre: Black Metal
type: Album
label: Antiq Records
language: French
rel. date: 2026-06-10
source: WEB/MP3
quality: CBR 320kbps / 44.1 kHz / Joint Stereo
runtime: 00:42:05
size: 96.5 MiB / 6 tracks
rip date: 2026-06-14
source url: https://open.qobuz.com/album/ojmg5jwwnmdb7
tracklist:
01. De célestes cavalcades 4:37
02. Assiégé pour l'éternité 9:01
03. Le sang respire encore 8:21
04. En quête du graal 8:54
05. Chant d'honneur 8:28
06. Par sombres forêts et vastes plaines 2:45
release notes:
Rallied amidst a sea of banner, polearm and glinting helm tales of
knights both treacherous and austere are reimagined amidst greater
capable arms as the first-borne hymnals of Paris, France-based epic
melodic black metal quartet VÉHÉMENCE now comprise a fourth full-length
album. That is to say that 'Assiégé pour l'Eternité' is a full retelling
and reconstitution of the band's debut album aiming to suit their legacy
while ramping the potential of their first strike. Though this is
arguably a product primarily for the most ardent "medieval" melodic black
metal hounds among us it'd just as well serve as a fresh introduction to
the ambitious bolt from the blue these celestial chivalries had been
twelve years ago.
Véhémence introduced themselves as a duo back in 2014 spearheaded by main
composer/performer Tulzcha as well as original vocalist/lyricist B.R.
with the shared intent of invoking an inspired fusion of Swedish and
French melodic black metal ideals given to a medieval theme. Their debut
album 'Assiégé' (2014) was a modest digital release that'd been heavily
supported by the online community I'd been involved in at the time,
inspiring discussions of the merits of bands like Sühnopfer and
Darkenhöld among others in new context. Sure, the vocals were kind of bad
on a few tracks and the drums were clunky but this wasn't a crime per the
self-driven abundance of the era and those pieces provided foundation for
the two much improved albums that've come since. So, what exactly
justifies ripping it down off the wall and repainting it in finer detail?
Re-recordings are an odd subject to broach for the sake of whitewashing
underground appeal, erasure of the struggle of "making do" at peak
inspiration and conception. The most practical folks among us are
anything but enjoyers of the remaster, believing that leaving well enough
alone ensures their memory remains crystalline as a stake planted in the
skull of time which secures their taste, or, marks their own exploration.
Finding the original mix of Sacramentum's debut is, for example,
relegated to shoddy low quality YouTube streams which pre-date a couple
of soulless bass-boosted revisions (At the Gates too, more recently)...
and I won't start on what re-recordings from Destruction and 'Stormblåst
MMV' did to cheapen their already goofy legacies. So, is there reasonable
justification for 'Assiégé' being rebuilt while still rotting loose in
the memories of those of us who'd been there pecking away at random
Bandcamp links back in early 2014?
'Assiégé pour l'Eternité' is not just a re-recording of 'Assiégé' for the
sake of correcting humble production values and programmed drums, though
it does both of those things. With the recent addition of KK (Passéisme)
on bass guitar and inclusion of drummer Thomas Leitner, who'd been with
Véhémence since 2018, we get a strong rhythm section behind this material
to start. Likewise vocalist Hyvermor (Hanternoz, Tour d'Ivoire) hadn't
performed on the band's debut but does so here and I believe he has also
reinterpreted the lyrics for this new version of the album to suit the
notably rearranged pieces within as well as enter them more squarely into
the lore built on their second and third albums. That is to say that this
is a full redressing of their work which has been fundamentally altered
to the point that it sounds like a follow-up to 'Ordalies' (2022) rather
than a distant predecessor.
Rather than scrape through a detailed comparison here I would first
suggest that 'Assiégé' is still a great record which brings out the heavy
metal aspire at the heart of melodic black metal and gives it an epic and
later-on folken edge. This is still true of the slick, fast-whipped
trampling fanfare of 'Assiégé pour l'Eternité' where we find a more
efficient, precision cast performing at a decade improved level. Most of
these changes are practical and performance-minded in transformation but
Hyvermor's vocals take the most expressive liberties in achieving similar
effect. In some cases songs have been shortened per their tightened pace
("En Quête du Graal") or extended for the sake of more patiently
fluttering reveal ("Assiégé pour l'Éternité") but overall the album's
effect is heightened rather than drowned away by competency.
Do these changes justify themselves? Per my own taste, yes, they've put
quite a lot of effort into a worthy release. Your answer will entirely
depend on how sonically satisfied you are with 'Assiégé' already and how
highly you'd rate your own curiosity for a full rework of it. I am enough
of a fan that this version reignites the magick Véhémence'd stirred
within their righteously involved melodic black metal threads twelve
years ago, lending a bit of accelerant to an already solid debut. If
nothing else 'Assiégé pour l'Eternité' is ambitious and entertaining work
on a level we're not getting much of this last half-decade. A high
recommendation.