A day of french black metal

France have long since been established as one of the genre's most important and prolific countries, with countless bands producing some of the most original and high quality Black Metal albums of recent years. Today is a fine day for French Black Metal, with three of France's most prominent Black Metal bands releasing new material.

Deathspell Omega - Drought

First up, one of France's most well known Black Metal acts, Deathspell Omega, who are based in Poitiers and have been active since 1998, are set to release a new EP titled "Drought". As with all their studio recordings since 2004, Deathspell Omega once again counts with the collaboration of Finnish musician Mikko Aspa on vocals, who is known for owning the record label Northern Heritage Productions, as well as single-handedly originating his own Black Metal projects Clandestine Blaze and Stabat Mater, not to mention collaborating with countless other bands across Europe.

Together with Hasjarl on guitars and Khaos on bass, this is the same lineup that worked on Deathspell Omega's last two full length albums "Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum" and "Paracletus", both of which were highly praised.

Deathspell Omega - Drought will be released through record label Norma Evangelium Diaboli and is already available for online purchase via Amazon.com.

Merrimack - The Acausal Mass

Next up are Merrimack, who were founded way back in 1994 in Paris, and were relatively unknown outside of the underground scene until they released their 2006 album "Of Entropy and Life Denial". Their new album is titled The Acausal Mass, and was recorded at Necromorbus Studios in Stockholm during March 2012.

With the exception of guitarist and founding member Perversifier, Merrimack consists of a completely new line-up since the release of their previous album, "Grey Rigorism", in 2009, which unsurprisingly had a bit of trouble living up to it's predecessor's grandeur. With the new line-up featuring members from such revered Black Metal bands such as Antaeus, Corpus Christii and Vorkreist, "The Acausal Mass" will surely return them to widespread acclaim once more.

Merrimack - The Acausal Mass is being released via AFM Records and is now available on Amazon.com.

Blacklodge - MachinatioN

Last but not least, one of France's premier Industrial Black Metal acts, Blacklodge will release their fourth full length album titled MachinatioN. Blacklodge formed in 1998 in Villard-de-Lans. Curiously, vocalist and drummer Saint Vincent is currently Vorkreist's singer, and has collaborated previously with Merrimack as a live musician. Blacklodge are well known for their aggressive and somewhat misanthropic approach to Industrial Black Metal, with lyrical themes ranging from Satanism to drug use. If their previous albums are anything to go by, MachinatioN, which is being released through Season of Mist, will no doubt deliver.

Blacklodge - MachinatioN is also available for ordering from Amazon.com.