When you talk about black metal and productivity, this French Armaggedon is definitely one of the hard hitters. This could be something of the bands fifteenth release since their first one in 2002, which is not easy to top in the black metal scene. But as for yet, this is only the third full-length release. And it might not surprise that I missed quite some of this endless stream of releases, but I do have quite some releases ranging from the first to the last and some stuff from in between to have a rather good look on how this band has developed over the past four years (!).
In fact, Armaggedon has changed from a band that was hard to take seriously to a band that has actually gained a place for themselves in the underground scene. And surprisingly they do not sound very French (anymore), they have a cold Norwegian kind of sound that is far removed from the very chaotic kind of black metal that goes round in France these days (read: the last ten years). This was the result of a better song writing process (most likely) and a bit better production. That last needs a comment, it doesn’t sound any less black metal and it won’t come close to a sell-out at all. Yet, the production is a bit more clear and clean so that the rawness comes to the right spot in the music: to the riffs and not solely to the production. This gives them a better position in the French underground scene and leave quite some other bands behind. I wouldn’t have guessed this when I heard the first split CD with Necroplasma (great band!) and Epuration Satanique called “Glory Of The Ancient Gods” on a very obscure label named Chaos Productions, but they have proven (by hard labor!) that there is light at the horizon. So, basically, I bet this journey hasn’t come to an end yet, in other words, I’m looking forward to a next release!
