With their meditative heaviness Belgian’s
Briqueville are among the most intriguing and
compelling doomy post-metal bands.
The end result is a staggering album that is
sophisticated and smothering at the same time.
For fans of: Goat, Oranssi Pazuzu, Bong, Sleep,
Isis, Pelican, Mogwai, Amenra, Godspeed You
Black! Emperor and Sun 0))).
The contemporary Belgian heavy music scene keeps spawning awesome bands, and Briqueville are among the most intriguing
and compelling of them. The meditative heaviness of their doomy post-metal sound and the careful engineering of the visual
aspects of their mesmerizing live-performance rituals are awe-inspiring and challenging in equal measure. After 2014’s self-
titled debut album (with 4 tracks that all conclude around the 10 minutes mark) and 2017's dazzling instrumental opus “II“
(with only 3 even longer tracks), the Flemish 5-piece finally return with their third studio album, one of the first real pandemic-
albums to be released on Pelagic Records. The band members had to finish the album in separation, which worked out better
than they had initially expected: the forced distance allowed them to take distance not only to each other, but also towards
their own song material. Some pieces grew larger than originally intended, others were stripped down to the essentials and
reinvented.
The end result is a staggering album that is sophisticated and smothering at the same time, made up of altogether shorter
songs as compared to the previous release, and there is a more prominent focus on those tasty electronics, which have always
been an integral part of Briqueville's sound. The album is also the first one with an album title: “Quelle” means ‘source’ in
German, and ‘which’ in French; “We strongly feel that this record keeps all the ingredients of previous records and explores
them further than we ever did before. The theme of a 'source', and the 'which' linking it reflexively to our previous album
artwork gave us the feeling that we stayed true to our original concept, music, artwork and clips. Water and sand as a source
of life and death. How an isolated soul deals with these elements“, says a nameless band member...
What? Yes, Briqueville is a band shrouded in mystery. The black Nazgul-robes and golden masks that all members wear on
stage give their presence the air of an occult ritual, but the band is not chasing (a) GHOST....; in fact they have worn their
masks for 10 years plus, and even do so during rehearsals. The anonymity creates equality, and prevents a cult of personality.
”Quelle” shows that Briqueville individually and collectively have a big heart for the gritty, dark, psychedelic, heavy and other-
worldly, as much as a love for beauty and melody. It's a soundtrack to the pandemic, written and recorded not before, but
during isolation - and a testimony that isolation can spawn the greatest creativity.
Tracklisting:
1 Akte VIII
2 Akte IX
3 Akte X
4 Akte XI
5 Akte XII
6 Akte XIII
7 Akte XIV
8 Akte XV
