THE FULL INTREPID EXPERIENCE OF LIGHT

"The Full Intrepid Experience of Light" is the debut full-length studio album by French avant garde/progressive metal act 11 As In Adversaries. The album was released in November 2010 through ATMF. 11 As In Adversaries features J. (Infestvvs) on Vocals, Guitar and Bass and G. (Gionata Potenti) on Drums. In addition to being part of 11 As In Adversaries they are both also involved in the French black metal act Glorior Belli. Actually "The Full Intrepid Experience of Light" was meant to be the fourth full-length studio album by Glorior Belli, but the two musicians felt that they had strayed too far from their black metal sound to release the album as a Glorior Belli album.

...and it´s pretty obvious why, when you listen to the album. There are only a few nods toward black metal on the album (a couple of harsh vocal parts and some black metal sounding riffs), and the tracks on the album are generally not extreme in a black metal sense. Instead they are generally very adventurous and explore both progressive and some relatively avant garde ideas. The dominant vocal style is clean and sort of shouting (not in a harsh way), but unfortunately the vocal melodies are a bit monotone and even after several listens I still have a hard time finding any real hooks in the melody lines. I know this isn´t supposed to be easy listening vers/chorus compositions, but I would have appreciated a hook or two. I´ve seen Ved Buens Ende mentioned as an influence in other reviews of the album, and while there are a few nods toward that act´s distinct sound, the music on "The Full Intrepid Experience of Light" are to my ears an altogether different beast.

The sound production on the album suits the music well. It´s professional, clean and sharp and in many ways "The Full Intrepid Experience of Light" is an intriguing release by 11 As In Adversaries. Unfortunately the monotone vocals and hookless melody lines aren´t that easy to appreciate and I´m left with a feeling that the album could have been a lot better than it is if they had chosen another vocal style and delivery. A 3 - 6.5 star (65%) rating is still warranted though.