A legendary record returns!

When French heavy metal band SORTILÈGE formed in 1981, they were following the example of their fellow countrymen Trust. Musically however, the band from the suburbs of Paris took their musical approach one step further, forging an amalgam of true heavy metal without being influenced by punk rock (like the early Trust), blues rock (Ganafoul) or progressive rock (Océan).

After changing their name from Blood Wave to SORTILÈGE, Christian Augustin, aka “Zouille” (vocals), Daniel Lapp (bass), Jean-Philippe Dumont, aka Bob Snake (drums), Didier Demajean (guitar) and Stéphane Dumont (guitar) recorded their first, self-titled EP for Dutch label Rave-On Records in 1983. The five original compositions: “Amazone”, “Progéniture Destructrice”, “Gladiateur”, “Sortilège” and “Bourreau” were received extremely well by press and fans alike (inside and outside their home country). High-profile support slots in the French capital for Samson and Def Leppard followed, before it was time to record the follow-up to »Sortilège«.

SORTILÈGE’s first full-length album was called »Métamorphose«, and it was released in 1984 on French label Devil’s Records. Didier Demajean, who cites “Majesté” as his favourite song on the record, explains: “»Métamorphose« was a continuation of our EP. We rehearsed a lot and constantly worked on new songs. Stéphane, the composer, and Zouille, the author of the lyrics, being very inspired and prolific during this period. With this album, were taking it up a notch technically and gaining in musical maturity. Our style was asserting itself, and the public was following us more and more.”

There also was an English-language edition of the album out on Steamhammer Records in Germany, and this, according to Demajean, is how it came about: “Our record company suggested that we make an English version to reach an international audience, but the French version is definitely the best and most welcome by our audience. We sold about the same number of albums in Germany as in France, about 30,000. For the rest of the world, very few tangible elements, the record companies’ sales reports were unfortunately very shady!”

Now, High Roller Records is reissuing the French band’s seminal debut 1984 record, Metamorphosis (French title, Métamorphose), which releases on November 17, 2023 on vinyl and CD! It’s also being reissued in BOTH its original French release, and the English-language version

REVIEW

SORTILÈGE is a band which I am only vaguely familiar with. I’m aware that they were a stalwart of the 80s Euro metal scene, and often considered legends in that realm. Despite that, I’ve never actually listened to them, and have skipped their recent releases after the band confusingly split (but didn’t?). Still, their early records have been on something of a wishlist of mine for some time. I love cult releases like this.

The album cover is so appropriately 80s metal that it almost brings a tear to the eye, and the band logo does much the same.

Let’s kick things off with “Alien”. First I have to compliment the production staying true to the original. It sounds new, but it retains that classic analog 80s feel. An absolute earworm of a chorus that’s been stuck in my head ever since, whew. Barnburner of a guitar solo and some ravenous drumming. As I said above, this track is my first exposure to SORTILÈGE, and I’m already a fan. LOVED this one!

Next up was “Majesty”. Really solid riff to kick things off. In keeping with a lot of 80s metal, the vocals are a bit quiet than the instruments, but I think that works to the benefit of the music. It really allows the vocals to feel like another instrument, rather than the focal point. And I personally love the delivery of the vox. The chorus is simple, but hot damn, does it go hard. Also, it had a Big Rock Ending (Rock Band reference!).

After that came “Death Hymn”. This track does such a great job at actually feeling like a hymn. From the delivery of the lyrics to the emotion behind the instruments. This quickly became a surefire all-timer for me. Outstanding tempo-shift at around 1:45 that secured its place. Seriously, how have I never heard these guys before? Their lyrics are so enthralling. Another tempo-shift at about 4:45. Are you kidding me? Holy shit, this is a facemelter (and not just because of the epic solo near the end).

Following that masterpiece was “Legend”, which was a solid little blitz of a track. Given that this was 1984, I would almost call it proto-speed metal. It’s a quick, non-nonsense sort of track that never overstayed its welcome. Outstanding solo, yet again. They predate FATES WARNING by a tad bit, but Augustin’s voice is very reminiscent of early FW.

Next came “Nuit de Limbes” (limbo night, according to Google translate), which serves as a brief little instrumental interlude for the album. Really solid wah-wahs to begin things, and an insanely good riff after that. The bass came out hard in this one. Yet another crazy good riff at about the 1:10 mark. These guys are just masters, aren’t they?

We begin the second half of the album with “Lost Civilization”. Which is another speedier track, and it made me recall the love I have for these 80s records. It’s so cool to see the beginnings of a subgenre, before it’s actually found its footing yet. It very much reminded me of early power metal and some speed metal.

Next was “Delirium of a Madman”. It started off slow, briefly, before Augustin let loose with a nice banshee wail. His vocals in the earlier part of this track literally sent shivers down my spine. This track feels like the token ballad of the album, and that’s not a bad thing at all. There’s real weight and emotion put into the instruments (shoutout to the booming drums!), and possibly the album’s best solo thus far. While I said that the last track reminded me of the beginnings of power and speed metal, this one really brought me to early progressive metal like SAVATAGE, FATES WARNING, and early DREAM THEATER. This was another all-timer for me, and might be one of my favorite vocal performances that I’ve ever heard. Top marks.

Our penultimate track was “Cyclopes of the Lake”, which started with a magical synth intro. Really frenetic drumming in this one (double bass in the beginning!). Damn, I love this album. Yet another track where I found myself singing along to the lyrics as if I knew them by heart, and constantly bobbing my head to the rhythm.

Finally, the title track “Metamorphosis”. Solemn acoustic to begin things, coupled with Augustin unleashing some tearful cries, before a shift send us back into pre-speed metal wonder. This track has a proper chug to its bass groove, very Steve Harris reminiscent, and it’s always nice when bassists get to shine. Really adore the delivery of the chorus line as well! With a perfectly 80s fade out, we say goodbye to SORTILÈGE.

CONCLUSION

I’m almost speechless. This was simply one of the finest pieces of metal music that I’ve ever heard. Everything was perfection, from the vocals to the lyrics, the production, just everything. I cannot recommend this record enough, and will most definitely be purchasing the CD release.

TheNWOTHM Score: 10/10

SORTILÈGE
Bandcamp: https://sortilegesom.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SortilegeTheBand/

Pre-order here: https://www.hrrecords.de/index.php?jtl_token=d1cb5500c772b1c06bf7c788ac2ae8ce87d38aa2042ada9713c05602e8bc6ef4&qs=sortilege+metamorphosis&search=