France’s Epitaphe are a curious case, because even in their early extreme death/doom days, you could clearly see the band was guided by ambition. They didn’t simply subscribe to the genre’s slow, monolithic sound; instead, they looked to extend its horizons. Case in point: their debut record, a work that stands firmly on the foundations paved by Esoteric and Evoken, while also opening it up to the discordant visions of Portal. This makes Epitaphe’s evolution even more surprising, as they have steadily stripped away their death/doom foundation, instead looking for the missing link between the cult-ish death metal of the 2000s and the progressive sound championed by the likes of Opeth.
Their third full-length is solidly founded on the dark, formless death metal that has come to dominate much of the recent underground scene. To that end, they take a relentless approach, blasting through unexpected time signatures, with the beginning of “Windswept” launching into an erratic tour de force. The guitar arrangements are excellent, heavily layered to create an asphyxiating effect. In these passages, they move closer toward the space inhabited by Chaos echoes, showcasing a more intellectualised form of mystical death metal.
At the same time, Epitaphe have been expanding their progressive inclinations. Their approach to melody and progression echoes Opeth’s earlier days. The most obvious examples are the introduction, “Half-Light”, and the quieter interlude, “Transient”, which see the group retreat to clean guitars and minimal instrumentation, providing a calmer side to III. They also intersect with their heavy, layered death metal, as in the quasi-improvised parts of “Windswept” that offer a bit of calm amid the ongoing storm.
Epitaphe execute these two modes superbly, but if they were disjointed, III wouldn’t stand out. They shine in how they incorporate these distinct motifs organically. The first half of “Spring Frost” is the perfect example of this exercise in balance, where the timbre and execution align with the cavernous and depraved aspects of an Abyssal record. Meanwhile, their melodies echo with the same sense of wonder that Still Life did. It is a two-way street: it makes their dissonant side more palatable while giving their progressive inclinations more weight and substance.
III may have little in common on the surface with Epitaphe’s early death/doom, but that history is precisely what makes their current direction work. The band have retained the genre’s sense of atmosphere, progression, and scale, applying them to their hybrid dissonant and progressive death metal approach.