Thesyre

Resistance

Osmose Productions 2009

With Resistance we have the fourth and most complex full length album from Quebec's Thesyre.  After an electronic intro of squealing guitar feedback, a digitized voice, and a martial bass guitar the album kicks into high gear with Hymne Au Merite.  A groovy black n' roll track that illustrates Thesyre's expanded arsenal, whether it be a black metal melody, an "almost Gregorian" chant, or a swirling guitar lead.  Par Une Froide Nuit D'Octobre is a painting of dissonant yet somber sonic textures.  A confident black metal march forms the backbone of the bass heavy Laique et Souverain.  A gang chorus shouts over a thrash riff and the pulsing bass guitar never relents.  With each track, a new angle, a new approach.  Such is the case with the doomy, slow riffs on De Realisme et De Nihilisme Actif.  The steady double bass and clean vocals support each other's transcendental misanthropy.  Eric's raspy gurgle is distinctive and embodies a bleak callousness.  Le Grande Noirceur is a beautiful instrumental which is a tranquil medieval melody played on clean guitars and further expresses the diversity of this album.  Twisting the melody somewhat and erasing its folkish roots is Afin D'en Finir Avec Le Judgement Des Dieux, a nostalgic lean into the abyss where I can discern even some extremely subtle references to some old Stockholm styled Swedish death metal.  Finally, the album's philosophical grimness culminates on the title track where a muted pounding beat and faded, digitized vocals are washed out by a rising tide of noise.  On Resistance Thesyre has developed an album of totalitarian might, utilizing groove heavy black n' roll and an overall militant attitude.  Resistance is Thesyre's best work to date and sees them improving upon their own individual sound to create a unique identity within an underground awash with clones.  Resistance strikes a truly subversive chord.