Zeitgeist – ‘La voie de l’Atlantique’ (2023)
Rating: 7/10
Release: 8 July 2023
Label: Independent / Bandcamp
Zeitgeist is a solo act out of Nancy, France, as far as I can tell, and La voie de l’Atlantique (“Way of the Atlantic”) is their second release. It’s a guitar, drums, a keyboard and vocals, and the sound is sparse. The Metal Archives list the genre as “heavy metal”, and Bandcamp calls it “power metal”, but this one is tough to pin down. It’s like folk metal instrumentation written for melo-death but edited and sung for lo-fi.
For its avant garde distaste for genres, I didn’t love this album as much as I thought I would. The art, title, and track listing are all evocative of some high-energy rollicking shenanigans, but that’s not what’s in the box. The mix is thin and the vocals are sent through a reverb that makes them lethargic. The keyboard sounds like it’s trying to emulate actual instruments in places and falls a little flat. It’s worth mentioning here that this is the fifth artist calling themselves “Zeitgeist” on Bandcamp alone, so it’s something you’ll only find if you’re looking for it.
With that out of the way, viewing the album as a smaller project, it’s competent. The songs have breaks and changes that give them a little of their own flavor. The keyboard is almost symphonic in places, and the instrumental parts are well-performed. It’s defiant of genre while gentle on the ears.
The album has six tracks, and only two have vocals. “Le marin” (The Sailor) is the strongest track of the two, but loses a little momentum by the end. “Au large de l’Eire” (Off from Ireland) is my pick for best track. The introduction sets the tone, and “Attaché à la hune” (Tied to the Top) shows off some of the symphonic chops mentioned earlier.
It’s a good album! I’m probably not in the intended audience, but I had fun listening to it!
Tracklist
- Introduction 03:42
- Périr en mer 04:24
- Au large de l’Eire 04:06
- Le marin 04:40
- Ils nagent sous nos pieds 03:51
- Attaché à la hune 06:43