ninehertz

We have spoken many a time about Fange's pilgrimage from sludge chaosbringers to industrial metal pioneers, and before I got into the bones of that again I felt I best make sure I wasn't dreaming it - so dived back in to old favourite albums like Poisse, Purge and Pourrissoir. And it's undeniable - those early days were rotten, horrible doomy sludge, unmissably so. If there was any other genre seeping in it was a hardcore belligerence. They are brilliant records too - not that I really needed reminding of that.

And then they started to transition, maybe from around Punir when electronic elements started to creep in, and then on a steadily accumulating linear scale, album to album, as they have appeared every year or so ever since. With the stripping back of activity of the iconic Throatruiner Records, run by members of the band, so as to now only being a vehicle for Fange releases, the more-than-silver-lining is this increased focus, and their continual development.

Naturally therefore, Purulences, their latest, is again further along that journey, further removed from their beginnings. It is a band growing into their new explorations, not only steady in their new sound, but now leading the way as much as if not more than their peers. Who else can create industrial in the extreme with this intent and with such powerful songs in this day? Only the conspicuous comparison of Author & Punisher would be in the frame.

This is no longer tinged by industrial, it is Fange's core, a mechanised skeleton. The opener here, Cavalier Seul, chimes and clangs with it, building a powerful beat that practically pulsates, at times almost touching on more mainstream electronica, or less metal at least - there's a surprising groove here. Yet it still has the pounding percussion and ever aggro vocals to keep things miserable. The following Sans Conviction's catchy riff further blends the line between something more accessible and the extremities still present. The whole album continues on from there, never wavering in approach or quality, a masterwork in modern day industrial metal.

Early Fange (RIP) were a brilliant band. New Fange, despite moving away from my beloved sludge sounds, are equally so. Their expedition, their growth has led them to Purulences, their pinnacle - so far.