Mischevious Jean-Jérôme Souladié! A few weeks before the release of VLTRA LIBRA, he told us in an interview with his cold wave/gothic rock band Sang Froid that he loved ‘castle and bat’ atmospheres and admitted that he sometimes enjoyed going all out in this theatrical gothic direction. Look what the bats dragged in: a surprise project/album, which he presents as a synthesis of his various works, from Sang Froid to Regarde les Hommes Tomber: the bite of black metal, the mists of darkwave, gothic splendours, the ominous heaviness of doom, the hushed elegance of classical music... He cites influences from Paradise Lost, Emperor, Ulver, but also Dead Can Dance. Recorded solo, without a label or anything, this album is inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, which he explicitly references in his titles... which already sets the scene for a very ‘castle and bats’ atmosphere!
‘Vois Moi’ ('See me'): VLTRA LIBRA's album begins with the words used by the famous Count to catch Mina Harker's attention on the streets of London, a choice that evokes both the menace and the baroque romanticism of the 1992 film. A sombre piano, a distant echo of guitar lingering like the lamentations of a ghost... then crushing, grandiose riffs: in terms of evocative style, it's pretty powerful! In the distance, the clear voice reaches us as if through a veil, a spell cast from the depths of time. We see you, Jean-Jérôme, but above all, we hear you!
We wander through the album as if we were lost in the ruins of a sinister castle, its long tracks becoming dark corridors leading to a multitude of rooms full of dark secrets. VLTRA LIBRA juggles genres and aesthetics to create a coherent universe dedicated to the night and its mysteries. Like a vampire traversing the ages, the composer combines his penchant for synthesizers (the darksynth finale of the very black metal La nuit je m'envole could be a Carpenterian extension of his experiments with ULTRA BALANCE) and his taste for the minimalism of classical piano (Crepusculaire No. 1 in C minor, a beautiful interlude of funereal poetry) . The length of the tracks lends itself to their narrative scope, their plot twists and their mutations.
Cleverly, Souladié does not recycle any gimmicks from Wojciech Kilar's legendary soundtrack. His vision is personal, and it is fun to recognise his touch as he borrows here and there from his previous projects. Thus, La Dentelle Noire, a solemn funeral procession, begins like a less danceable and urban track from Sang Froid – Ô Caniveau transposed to a cemetery, in short, while the mix of influences from the more metal parts recalls that taste for experimentations that already prevents Regarde les Hommes Tomber from easily fit into a genre. Freedom is what motivates VLTRA LIBRA, free from the shackles of genre. Whether in the frenzy of extreme metal or the feverish hallucinations suggested by the synthetic layers, in the spectral clear vocals or the saturated putrid rumblings, VLTRA LIBRA brings this intense, exhilarating phantasmagorical night to life.
The result, with its sepulchral flamboyance, has a power that ignites the imagination. The climax and conclusion of this superb nightmare, Night Symphony No. 1 has a fascinating macabre excess, both terrifying and seductive: this ode to darkness encapsulates all of Jean-Jérôme Souladié's talent as a composer, who has already promised to work on a sequel. We can sense his love for music in all its forms, whether autonomous or as a cinematic illustration... but also a certain sense of staging. Listen to them, these distant choirs from beyond the grave, these panicked violins, these mournful guitars, these synths straight out of an 80s horror film... the children of the night, what music they make!
