Ergot De Seigle – Dans Les Forêts D’ergot

Ergot De Seigle, aside from being a type of fungus, apparently one that can create entire forests of itself is, as of 2022, also a Raw Black Metal solo-project hailing from my beloved France. So far they have released a grand total of two Demos (both of whom were later re-released as a compilation album as well as a Full-length album, all in a span of two years – One, if you consider that the Compilation was released a year later than the original three, and consider it to provide very little new to the table. But I digress, especially since I am not aware of whether or not this is even the case. No, instead I intend to talk about the Full-length record, entitled Dans Les Forêts D’ergot – Which, according to Google Translate, means ‘In The Fungal Forest’. 

Musically, Ergot De Seigle delivers everything I like from modern Raw Black Metal – It is gritty, understated, deliberately mixed in an old-fashioned manner to better allow the different instruments more seamlessly merge together into a conglomerate of sounds assaulting the senses. Not unlike the ever-encroaching march of fungi onto a damp surface, fittingly enough. And while each track is clearly self-contained and well-developed enough in their own right, they are still brilliantly stitched together by the addition of three relatively short but effective instrumental tracks – Serving as the root foundation for this proverbial and lyrical fungal forest, as it were. 

And while I, as is often the case, struggle to describe what exactly it is about the French culture that I find so very appealing when combined with the Black Metal scene, in this case I would argue that it boils down to the fine match between the elegance of the language combined with the sheer, slow menacing burn of the genre. Despite sounding like a world of contrasts it fits together perfectly to become a mood, an oppressive atmosphere all on its own. In fact, I found myself losing myself in the music in a manner usually only reserved for heavily melancholic and expressive Funeral Doom albums. Today might have been my first spin, but it will most certainly not be my last. 

Ten tracks in total, spanning forty-two minutes overall. Recommended for fans of Who Dies in Siberial Slush and their kinsmen Malevolentia. 

https://ergotdeseigle.bandcamp.com/