Aluk Todolo (French avant-psych-metal)

This oddly-named French group seems to have fallen through the cracks as the "post-black metal" movement has (with the apparent exceptions of Blut Aus Nord and Virus) gone out of fashion, which is understandable but something of a shame as AT are in my opinion one of the most interesting - and satisfying new groups to come out of that overall milieu. (which I to be honest find rather hit-and-miss) The mysterious sigil that's my current avatar is in fact their symbol.

What differentiates Aluk Todolo from so many other recent hard-to-classify music groups drawing upon black metal is that instead of using more "art music"-oriented styles to make the BM more cerebral, they're instead playing something derived stylistically from more "highbrow" genres of music but with a raw malevolent black metal attitude. The AT signature sound is a melange of 1970s progressive/psychedelic rock, 1980s goth-punk and 1990s post-rock but from a black metal music background with that ideological ethos being the concept holding the disparate influences all together. I know that the description makes them sound like some kind of Frankish pendant to Virus or perhaps that group's predecessors Ved Buens Ende, but they sound nothing alike: Whereas VBE/Virus are unusally Modernist for a black metal group in their approach, Aluk Todolo still belong to the Romanticist end of the spectrum; likewise where Virus are still song-oriented in their composition, AT are completely instrumental with lengthy "slow burn" compositions building up layered soundscapes over more linear forwards-progressing narrative structures driven by dark and sparse bass rhythms.

Closest point of comparison would in fact probably be Russian Circles' heaviest songs, but Aluk Todolo frequently sound extremely sinister and deranged in a way I've never heard RC even attempt... not to mention that their songwriting is much more ambitious. Individual tracks frequently reach the 14-minute mark, and the one album I've heard of theirs in its entirety is a double-CD meant to be listened in one continuous session. Some sample tracks:









I'm guessing they're too psychedelic for most black metallers yet too metallic and abrasive for most psychheads? A similar fate might have befallen Flemish weirdoes Lugubrum whom they've toured with. Could also be that their self-categorization of "occult rock" is used more to describe bands like Blue Öyster Cult and Coven, as well as their modern day imitators like Blood Ceremony and Ghost, when Aluk Todolo are much more modern. (as opposed to Modern)

In any case I think they deserve a much bigger audience, at least as big one as Blut Aus Nord and Virus - certainly a bigger one than Alcest or Deafheaven. (disclaimer: I don't really "get" shoegaze in the first place and hence have no interest in seeing it fused with black metal)

Edited by Toaster Mantis - October 10 2014 at 03:06

I like em so much i wanna hump their legs

I have read similar things that Occult Rock is the best album. It is thus far the only one i've heard. It does seem to veer into unrelated arenas where only the most eclectic freaks dare to go. Eventually i think they will catch on but if they are still together when that happens is anybody's guess

Cool site. At least they allow themselves to be photographed. Funny that they are listed here as Krautrock. I would peg them as experimental metal

I really dig these guys. i have Finsternis and play it occasionally if I want to frighten my upstairs neighbour. The new one Occult Rock though is far better imo. The more rhythmic feel along with the, at times, quite surfer-like guitars suit them better. Been meaning to review it, but time is a slippery fellow.

Love these guys. Occult Rock is one of the milestone releases of the last few years for me. Don't have the new one yet but off the back of an online listen, not a great leap forward like OR was, but really excellent work nevertheless.