At the intersection where metal and history meet, it's not uncommon to come across some of the very best works that metal can ever hope to bring forward. Such a combination is something that we can get a seemingly infinite number of great records out of given that for every conflict or concept throughout history, there is more than enough material to craft at least a song around with there being hundreds of thousands of different topics that can be central to entire albums. We've seen that done to tremendous effect many times over, and it has yet to lose its luster especially when it comes to those exploring topics outside the more well-known reaches of history in metal like the World Wars. With more than enough inspiration throughout their homeland's history, Griffon took the idea and ran with it.
As much as this record is a piece of truly intense black metal with more than enough inspiration from death metal as it is a blaze through France's history of rebellion in the name of the truest freedom for its people, this is a political beast whose meanings are simply lost to me, unfortunately, but it's in every given moment of "De Republica" that the conviction and passion of Griffon's views are felt wholeheartedly. Throughout every single one of these six captivating tracks, Griffon goes above and beyond to deliver this yearning for freedom even if it means blood must be spilled across the countryside with everyone chanting for the beauty to not live under tyranny anymore but more than willing to do what it takes to bring such a sight about. Driven by black metal that is simply uncompromising but more than willing to pull back for dramatic effect when the timing is right, "De Republica" is a record I don't think many of us could have anticipated purely because of how all-in Griffon went in its approach for what the record represents with each given facet of the album really coming into its own to present us with something that really gives French black metal a better name than it already had. As eviscerating and intense as the very path to freedom, it cannot be argued that Griffon has done anything less than immense justice for their peoples' history through exemplary black metal that's intense in all the right areas and inspirational on a scale that is well and truly unexpected.
The fervor of freedom is something that has resonated throughout the ages from the earliest days of civilization to modern times where many still live in oppression, and it's through their rich history of toppling those who abused their power that France's Griffon shows us how it's done in such a form that is nigh-on tremendous to behold. This is what happens when history and black metal meet for an outing that is no less than spectacular right from the get-go, and "De Republica" does not disappoint in the slightest from its humble countryside chatter to the steel of the guillotine lopping heads off in the capital square.
LISTEN to "De Republica" on Bandcamp here.
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