Review by Vinny for 1928 - L'appel du Spectre (2025)
Featuring Brouillard from many other projects in the black and doom world (Alukta, Les Légions du Déclin, Transcending Rites...the list goes on), French duo 1928 give us all a respectful nod to the old school with this their debut full length album. Following on from their 2024 EP, Les meutes séditieuses this album is advertised as raw French black metal. In reality, I have heard rawer, but that's not to say that the conventional black metal that is coupled on occasion with some black 'n roll isn't thoroughly entertaining. There is a lot of heart behind what 1928 put together here and it is clear where Déclin and Brouillard's passion lies. Whilst this release does not quite keep up with the likes of Altar of Woe from this year, the intent to do harm is clear and present at all times.
With an album cover not dissimilar to the 2021 album by Spectral Wound, A Diabolic Thirst 1928 possess a similar potency in their attack without quite straying into the more melodic teritory inhabited by Canada's black metal terrors. With Brouillard on vocals, she rasps and howls her way through nine resplendent tracks of black metal. The album detail I have does not specify who plays what on the record in fact. Whomever it is who is howling their very soul out, props to them. The punky/black 'n roll riff that opens ' Le royaume incondé' catches you off-guard at first but then the track soon settles down into a mid-paced mauling before increasing the tempo later in the track. In short, 1928 keep things interesting.
Opening the album with a short burst of the French national anthem is another unexpected moment, and one that threatened some concern from me in that this was going to be a theme for the album. It isn't. This is perhaps one of the more immediate and direct balck metal albums of 2025 if I am honest. These two aren't here to fuck around after all. If I am being picky, I think it could benefit from a more raw sound than it has, and I acknowledge there is a decent level of rawness here already. I think the direction here is clearly supposed to be a dark and scathing one and the production job does not necessarily do justice to that ethos. Still, I cannot shy away from what is still agreat record though, and on which has been on rotation for a solid couple of weeks already.