Ronan Le Barbare - Ronan Le Barbare |self-released, 2015| 4/5 instrumental metal
1. Intro, 2. A Furor Normanorum, 3. Ascension Of The Black Insane
Heart, 4. Tamdin, 5. In Utero, 6. The Barbarian, 7. Thulsa Doom, 8.
Aromael, 9. Amen (Sepultura Cover)
Ronan Le Barbare is a solo project by French guitarist Ronan LeBouc. He
has been making music for the last 17 years and the self-tilted album is
his debut. Judging by the title, the musician has been touched and
inspired by iconic 80's movies about a mighty warrior -
Conan The Barbarian - which illustrated such aspects of human nature as brutality, spirituality, honor, vengeance, and sadness.
The album brings a collection of professionally arranged and performed
instrumental songs which were mixed and mastered by Ronan's friend Vonig
Le Mee. The highly poetic, spiritually moving "Intro" opens the
tracklist with light guitar leitmotifs as well as an intriguing synth
part. It is then followed by a series of chunky guitar riffs synced very
well with drums, which all announce the arrival of "A Furor
Normanorum". Technically, this 8+ minutes long track consists of two
parts. The first is dynamic and metal-orientated and provides catchy
arrangements (loud rhythm guitars vs soloing, background voice samples
and slightly intrusive drums). The second is built upon repetitive,
heavy guitar parts and sounds less rhythmic, yet captures the essence of
human pain and suffering. It's finished with a murky, buzzing,
electronic effect.
The introduction to "Ascension Of The Black Insane Heart" is a large quote taken from
American Psycho
movie where the protagonist, Patrick Bateman was confessing about his
inner drama. The song keeps the tension, expressed through altered,
extended, and sometime heavier guitar riffs, whereas a woman's
lamentation and her insane laughter are the cherry on the pie of the
overall atmosphere of this track. The arrangements are quite repetitive
and tightly fill in this lengthy suite.
"Tamdin" begins innocently with an almost Victorian or even New Age set
of passages. These then become enriched and develop into an epic
guitar-driven arrangement. A Tibetan-like invocation comes in
surprisingly, lowering the tone of the track and preparing the listener
for a heavier ride. The drums, bass, and guitar that follow collaborate
nicely, bringing a progressive metal vibe that sounds very vital thanks
to a multitude of changes. The heavier part could definitely make a
dynamic soundtrack for an action video game. Gloomy voices return to
decrease the tempo and lead to an ending where two guitar arrangements
(one gradual, the other stretched) collaborate together nicely, building
up the mysterious atmosphere.
If you like melodious gothic moods, then the opening of "In Utero"
should please you with its 'windy' mood and subtle, positive guitar
arrangements. There's a feel of loneliness and isolation here, which
slightly warms up until the spirited progressive rock riffs show up.
Next, a very well written and performed, and also instantly memorable
part of the composition starts. The listeners might vividly imagine a
lone guitar virtuoso performing on a high cliff, with a grey sky as
background, but also thunder and lightning approaching behind his
silhouette. This lengthy composition gives some space for more 'exotic'
instruments and ambient sounds such as ocean waves, which it ends with.
Now, in the name of aforementioned Conan, here comes "The Barbarian", with the most memorable Q&A quote from the movie ('
Conan! What is best in life?')
in the beginning, and the heaviest metal arrangements presented on this
album. The rhythm guitars are layered and sound dirty, with shredding
bringing us into higher tones. The drum parts are packed tightly and put
on the top along with the bass lines. Tuned down, mighty guitar riffs
come up next, reminiscent of Ministry's dense industrial metal vibe and
enriched with similarly sampled quotes. Ideal for headbanging. Then the
chase slows down again and the focus changes to cold melodic guitar
riffs, supported by a slightly chaotic background. Both gradually fade
away into the end of the song.
"Thulsa Doom" is another sonic trip into the heavy metal lands, with a
dramatic performance by James Earl Jones, also sampled from the first
Conan
movie. Vibrating guitar riffs keep the sound up and spacey, while
interestingly altered rhythm guitars attack from the other side like a
swarm of angry hornets. The drums are very well matched, and don't steal
attention from the initial guitar-driven dynamics. It's the best track
of the whole album in my opinion, thanks to lively arrangements and
equally interesting sonic backgrounds. It seems as if they make both of
your brain’s hemispheres engaged into processing the incoming sound
waves. Ronan openly and successfully shows a full spectrum of both
playing and songwriting skills here.
You'll need some rest after the exposure to such a heavy cannonade. The
eighth track on the album brings acoustic, subtle arrangements written
for both guitar and synths. Moreover, it is the song which Ronan wrote
for his daughter. Guitar riffs flow in steadily like ocean waves, later
shaped into rock arrangements. A modulated sound of bells ends the track
giving it a spiritual, ambient vibe.
The album’s closing track is the only one with actual vocals. Ronan
chose to cover Sepultura's "Amen" with his very well matched,
partly-growled voice that comes very close to the original. When the
original song's overall tune is harsher, and more 'underground' thanks
to a strongly accented bass, Ronan's version sounds much cleaner &
spacey. Yet, his guitar riffs sound heavier and more modern than
Sepultura’s. The song features an opera-like singer's voice, though
Sepultura's original sounds more exotic, with the classical vibe playing
that part here.
Ronan LeBouc seems to enjoy changing arrangements and may not settle
down for making a track with just one mood, one arrangement, and all
those repetitions that usually appear in popular song structures. The
entire debut presents a cross-section of Ronan's best compositions so
far, rather than being a concept album, but the music has lots to say to
careful listeners. His songwriting and instrumental talents definitely
are in their prime for another release, which could cover an original
story narrated with several integrated chapters.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Magazine, June 15th, 2015. Proofreading: Mike 'Vesper' Dziewoński)
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Buy on: Bandcamp
Reviewed by
Fabryka Music Magazine
