Comments, reviews, interviews

Evander Sinque — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

As for me, St. Claus has given me a good New Year present. But I was only able to fully appreciate it at the end of a ten-day alcoholic comatose. I'm speaking about the disk of Canadian project Krief de Soli “Procul Este, profani...”. I, a fan of Funeral Doom, liked this work.

All three tracks that form the album could be listened to in one breath, despite the duration of 15-16 minutes each. The music is symphonic and has an interesting composition. I doubt that the author, being omb, managed to use only live instruments in the project, but string and wind instruments sound very convincing and natural.

The vocal manner, that reminded me of R.H. from Reclusiam, pleased me a lot in regards to structure of its parts. However, here we have a real firedrake at mike. I am unable to understand the texts, as they all are in Latin. But I admit that dead language is very much on point here.

And the last track doesn't have voice part at all, i.e. it's instrumental. And it's very expressive and dramatic. The author managed to convey strong emotional charge through keyboard parties. There is a couple of places in the album where monolith and raw guitars somehow start to play black-metal figures in a strange way, and that's what I didn't like. But on the whole, Krief de Soli’s debut is an interesting and remarkable work. I recommend it to fans of genre.

8/10

Doom-art.ru Jan 2010

Fenryr — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

A person looks for associations throughout life, even at a subconscious level. They say a man selects a wife that is similar to his mother, in music, it is exactly the same. Along with an illness that makes you argue yourself hoarse on whether a group belongs to this or that style, there is a need to compare groups with each other. In case, Krief de Soli comparisons with Longing for Dawn are almost inevitable. And, it is absolutely unessential that they so are similar, superficial knowledge is enough: both groups are Canadian, both play funeral doom with a savor of ambient. However, the inquisitive listener only has to get a closer look at the child of mysterious E. de S., as it becomes clear, that such comparison is unreasonable and silly.

Egregoir took an idea that had been up in the air for a long time, but, by a strange confluence of circumstances, very few people have used it until now, let alone using it sensibly. Krief de Soli is based on Bible texts (Apocalypse) which, combined with Latin, produces a rather specific effect, attracting and, at the same time, frightening the listener. In these three 15-minutes compositions we don't find traditional for doom, pain, and grief of a despaired individual, here we have something more: pictures of perishing mankind, sense of inevitable threat, and global trouble that are only aggravated by muffled growls, together with minimalistic keyboard passages.

Perhaps, it is impossible, as well as silly, to distinguish any of the three tracks. Krief de Soli, in general, is far from concepts like “musical hit” and “melody”, this is a project entirely weaved from the atmosphere of the end, inevitability, and each rustle, each click is impregnated by that atmosphere. However, it also is the weak part of the album; hardly anyone will want to listen to it constantly, because on the fourteenth minute, the monotonous Apocalypse starts to become boring. Fortunately, not all in the world is liable to blind destiny, fate, and everyone has a choice: to listen to “Procul Este, Profani...”, or to neglect it in favor of something more accessible and clear.

7/10

ThyDoom.com Jan 2010

old man — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Welcome to the next requiem mass under the strict arches of a Gothic cathedral. This time, this service will be carried out for you by the newly conferred cure from Canada. But don't worry, the liturgy won't be disrupted in any single part, and in solemnity and gloom, reverend E. de S. won't concede to any of the coryphaeus, whether it be Stijn van Kouter or Kostas Panajotu or John Paradizo. In gravity, maybe he will, but its absence is compensated by atmosphere of mysticism and fate, condensed on tracks on this album to such a degree, that one can sink in it, if he will plunge into it. E. de S. is far from being the first who to undertake in drawing musical pictures of approaching Apocalypse, but it hasn't prevented him from being convincing in his attempts. Densely mixed on neoclassical harmonies and church music, funeral-metal by Krief de Soli doesn't leave any hope of rescue for “all ye who enter here”. The closed doors of the cathedral already won't let anybody outside, and the more the action unfolds, the deeper poor congregation will stick in a cobweb of slow heavy riffs, magic of solemn keyboard passages (dominating in sound), and gradually entering violoncello pizzicato (I haven't caught whether the musician scrapes a bow across it here). Deep, low (quite traditional for genre) growl, prophesied Latin stanzas from St. John's Revelation, supplements the picture of universal destruction. However, vocals remains a minor element for Krief de Soli, as the third part of the album does without it, but this remains almost unnoticed in a flow of gloom that the Canadian vents from the altar. Somehow, he even managed to cover far from the ideal quality of sound, which you only pay attention to in the beginning of the album, as in the end of it - what is the difference between buried alive and from what marble his gravestone is made? From all the existing styles and directions, funeral-doom metal by E. de S. is closer, perhaps, to PANTHEIST, but to say that the Canadian copies the manners of Kostas, would be utterly incorrect. He has his own way, mixing doom-metal riffs, “church” harmonies, and “dark” ambient atmosphere on the basis of apocalypse prophecies. As a result, the world of Krief de Soli is a real quintessence of grief, although presented in a rather aesthetically attractive manner... All turns to ashes, all decays, all is in the hands of the Lord, but all that is just devilishly beautiful. And, though pictures like this don't frighten anyone, the sermon on vanity of the world delivered by Canadian doomster, published by young Russian label “Endless Winter”, worked out convincingly.

7/10

Darkside Jan 2010

Demether — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

The first release from new Russian label Endless Winter, specializing in funeral-doom, became the debut works of the Canadian, one-man project Krief de Soli (Grief of Loneliness). It is a frantically gloomy, muddy as the waters of a black bog concealed in deep forests, funeral-doom metal, with a demonic voice growling in Latin, with piano and live violoncello. Such frightening music, engulfing as a dark pit, whirlpool in eternal, but not boundless darkness. No, this is a darkness of a closed space, of ruins, or of a house full of phantoms and the smell of death. Horrifying music - horrifying resonant funeral, not licked clean, but as rough as the inner walls of a coffin, and the vocalist is buried in it and can't get out... And being symphonic doesn't make the atmosphere of Krief de Soli music any kinder or softer! Oh, what a good album!

9/10

HeavyMusic.ru Apr 2010

Mourning — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Nuove uscite per la label russa Endless Winter, fra esse vi è anche l'album di debutto della one man band canadese Krief De Soli. L'act composto dal solo Egregoir de Sang si cimenta in un funeral doom claustrofobico e opprimente dove le movenze statiche e ampie la fanno da padrone puntando a sotterrare l'ascoltatore sotto una pesante coltre di grigiore crescente.

Tre episodi per quasi quarantasette minuti di musica espansa e priva di vitalità che hanno in comune una spettralità maligna e asfissiante, un lavoro che fa quadrato con le sue poche e sufficienti peculiarità legate al genere per ricreare un muro impossibile da scavalcare, l'animo della titletrack “Mei Oculi Devorati Sunt Tenebris...” n'è buona rappresentazione.

Egregoir riesce in più casi a sfoderare una prestazione convincente, soprattutto per quanto riguarda “Vocis... Imago... Funebris”, l'intensità schiacciante della traccia è da brivido in alcuni punti, l'uso di quelle poche note di piano a sostegno del riff pachidermico e i synth carichi di malinconia struggente ne fortificano l'evocazione sanguigna delle liriche estratte dall'Apocalisse di San Giovanni così come del resto tutto ciò che verrà decantato proverrà da quel libro.

Intrigante il triste entrare della chitarra acustica che da vita a “Benediction Domini Sit Vobiscum” prima che il riffing si tramuti divenendo straziante, lascia ancora una volta alle note imponenti delle tastiere tessere una trama ripetitiva e struggente che prenderà le redini della situazione. L'entrata del piano sul finire del sesto minuto spezzerà quella monotonia andante offrendo una variante che dopo un paio di giri ricompatterà quella sensazione di circolo chiuso sconfortante prima creata, la traccia si conclude con una citazione di burzumiana ispirazione.

Come un gatto che gioca col topo, le atmosfere di “Procul Este, Profani” esalano sparuti momenti d'innalzamento morale per poi ricadere in uno solitario giaciglio.

Che sia un album di stampo religioso (senza per questo definirlo white visto che non si ha certezza) lo si nota o si potrebbe far collegamento logico già prima d'inserire il cd dall'artwork esterno e interno del booklet che a più riprese ci mostra immagini relative a figure e luoghi sacri mesti e probabilmente fonte da cui attingere per l'ispirazione, le parole emesse ne sono conferma e si prestano alla musica poggiandosi al pari di macigni sulle note cineree.

Il Funeral Doom è un genere che, non sfruttando un impatto veloce nè cullandosi su iper produzioni o costruzioni tecniche ricercate, punta sull'emotività di chi si accosta alle release di questo tipo, alle volte anche una prestazione definibile standard può divenire un capolavoro proprio per le atmosfere e la capacità di trasmettere che lo rendono tale.

“Procul Este, Profani” ha ciò che serve per farsi piacevolmente apprezzare da chi segue il filone, a ognuno poi andare a scavare in fondo con il proprio io e trovare quello che quest'album può realmente dare, l'ascolto è consigliato.

Aristocrazia Webzine Jun. 2010

Frédéric Cerfvol — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Krief de Soli’s approach of Funeral Doom is not revolutionary. Still, it is a pleasant one. Hailing from Canada and under the sole direction of Egregoir de Sang, Procul Este, Profani… brings forth three tracks, each exceeding the 15 minutes mark.

If you like your Funeral Doom liturgical and loaded with keyboards, there’s a good chance you might appreciate Krief de Soli's debut effort. All the lyrics are sung in Latin and are excerpts from the Apocalypsis. That sets the tone. Still there is more light than darkness in this record and somehow it happens to remind me of Ahab’s The Call of the Wretched Sea, not so much musically but rather for all the atmospheres created that have somehow an epic edge to them.

Each song is built following the same canvas: long and slow introductions and then the momentum picks up to end in final apotheosis. Simple and yet very effective. Egregoir de Sang even blesses us with muffled blast beats on Mei Oculus Devorati Sunt Tenebris... which gives some welcome and yet unexpected dISEMBOWELMENT flavor to it.

On the other hand, if you're somewhat allergic to keyboards, you may find yourself overwhelmed with them, especially since they have a naive feel to them. In 'Benediction Domini Sit Vobiscum', they almost sound like the soundtrack to a Bollywood film, but strangely this adds up to the religiosity of the track and blends in nicely.

Obviously it’s nothing close to Skepticism or the aforementioned Ahab but it is reasonable to imagine that the band's future may exceed greater expectations. Despite a few flaws, Krief de Soli’s debut is perfectly enjoyable and, among the many stillborn projects pertaining to the genre, this certainly stands out as being one of the most pleasant releases of this year.

Doom-metal.com Aug. 2010

Goebbels — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Au moment où les artistes (si on peut les appeler ainsi) s’amusent à jouer les « New Heros » de la scène Metal actuelle, Krief de Soli n’obéit pas à la règle et inscrit son nom parmi la lignée des mystérieux qui broient les traces de leurs identités et les pistes de leurs travaux.

Il est d’origine québécoise. C’est tout se ce qu’il se contente d’afficher afin de laisser la véritable parole à sa musique toujours fidèle au principe de « gommage ». Comment ne fait-elle pas ainsi s’elle se concentre dans un Funeral Doom religieux et extrêmement atmosphérique ? Voyons suivre de près la démarche de sa première offrande Procul Este, Profani.

D’abord, le visuel nous plonge de plain-pied dans le bain. Un jeu de couleurs à la fois simple et dérangeant qui sied à merveille avec la spirale théologique de l’album. Et l’intérieur recycle l’extérieur…Trois titres, mais également trois différentes occasions d’hanter l’esprit du Christ…un seul objectif : le profaner !

Dans un océan de lenteur, l’étiquette du genre prend toute son ampleur. Le premier titre Mei Oculus Devorati Sunt Tenebris... nous fait porter la jaquette de seize minutes avec des riffs extrêmement sommaires touchant même la frontière de la banalité. Toutefois, la précision se fait très vite ressentie et on ne peut que songer aux travaux de Doom : VS. La propreté du son et la clarté du jeu ancre leurs différences mais le québécois se débrouille quand même pas mal, mêlant montées classiques en crescendo mais pas dénuées d'intérêt et passages plus distants voire écartés du reste. En d’autres termes, même si les angles de vue semblent différer d’un riff à l’autre, l’idée directrice s’avère toujours bien visée et suivie. Vers et revers d’une même médaille !

Sur une logique évolutive, KDS couronne ses morceaux avec un clavier, jamais original ou innovateur, certes mais suffisamment pesant pour servir l’ensemble. Les notes pianistiques insufflent à l’atmosphère une vraie douceur, ce qui rivalise avec la sauvagerie de quelques riffs ou même les accélérations de la boite rythmique. Celle-ci se dévoile très mise en arrière et même les blast les plus véhéments sonnent à nos oreilles très discrets. Quant au chant, il oscille entre des murmures et des growls assez conventionnels. Ce vagabondage se fait sur les toits d’une langue latine, chose bien attendue dès qu’on se rend compte de l’importance de la spiritualité dans la conception générale de Krief de Soli

En effet, on ne va pas rendre justice au travail que lorsqu’on combine toutes ces facettes. Car, si on fait l’économie du fond, on risquera de ne pas savourer un rendu très axé sur l’aspect feeling mais sans en faire trop, ce qui facilite vraiment l’écoute. Par exemple, le deuxième titre Vocis... Imago... Funebris... se dévoile baptisé via une aura mélodieuse qui se laisse glisser entre les deux extrémités du tempo. En cela, le musicien souligne un doute métapsychique allant du Christ à ses plus zélateurs disciples…Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani.

De même le musicien pousse encore plus loin sa vision de musique doomesque et atmosphérique dans son troisième et dernier titre. Le clavier, extrêmement omniprésent renoue le fond avec la forme de la parfaite manière qui soit. Ses différentes couches s’entremêlent diablement jusqu’à créer une douceur…que j’ose qualifier de macabre. Ni peur ni joie, juste une sérénité enveloppeuse dans 15 minutes de jeu instrumental aussi clean que grandiloquent.

En conclusion Procul Este, Profani est un album concept qui dessine les grandes lignes d’une musique ayant souci du fond et de la forme. Ses défauts sont très vites ressentis surtout au niveau d’une originalité plus ou moins faiblarde. Une anomalie à soigner…un travail à saluer.

14.5/20

Sombre Arcane Sep. 2010

Sergio Evans — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Krief de Soli es el proyecto unipersonal del canadiense Egregoir de Sang, quien ejecuta todos los instrumentos e inspiró esta obra en el Apocalipsis de San Juan. El objetivo del autor es avanzar hacia una dirección de crecimiento espiritual, revelando el conocimiento que fue dado por Dios y más tarde propagado por el mundo. Su tesis es que esta sapiencia es un mecanismo muy poderoso, que en manos torpes puede causar daño.

El álbum “Procul Este, Profani…” es una pieza dividida en tres actos. Si hubiese que asociar cada uno a una emoción, el primero encarnaría el miedo. En él destacan las armonías en teclado que permanecen a través de los 15 minutos de duración del track, en los cuales se suceden distintas variaciones del ánimo, todas cubiertas de un aura obscura. El segundo acto sugiere tristeza y se construye a partir de una melodía central de 16 minutos, donde un piano sutil establece un cambio respecto del corte precedente. Por momentos, el rever llega incluso a deformar la voz y la batería se percibe tan distante que desaparece.

El tema final posee un sonido distinto. Quizá se registró en otro lugar o de modo intencionado se mejoró el sonido, siguiendo la evolución natural del disco, donde cada corte es más pulcro que el anterior. Este capítulo personifica la condena y resalta por una melodía majestuosa interpretada con teclados y una mayor claridad en la percusión. Los dos últimos tracks, en especial el tercero, indican la línea que debiese tomar la banda en un próximo trabajo, pues compendia de modo magistral la tristeza inherente al género.

Ciudad Metal Sep. 2010

Gabriele Frontini — Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Ambient and doom metal have always been fascinating me since I listened to Dusk band. Krief De Soli from Canada, one-man band by Egregoir de Sang is deeply interested into religion, as we can see from lyrics of debut album 'Procul Este, Profani...' (translated from latin as Far off, ye that Profane...) all taken by the Book of Revelation by St. John (often referred to as the Book of Apocalypse) in ancient latin language.

Musically speaking, we have an incredibly slow and pounding funeral doom metal, in the more claustrophobic form ever, and that's good. Funeral doom metal, for his own nature, ain't never been opened to many improvements and/or changes of any kind: its structure is monolithic and incredibly heavy, just like a slow behemoth that is inexorably approaching to the end of its path, accompanied by the monotonous litany of the passages of the Bible by Egregoir de Sang. Each song has an average lenght of about 15 minutes and very little spoken parts, since the instrumental ones are the majority. The production and graphic layout are all in all nothing particularly special, being simply the right things at the right place, but that is not a cons.

To sum up this is a pretty good release, humble and passionate, atmospheric and eerie. Thumb up

Obscura Webzine Dec. 2010

Krief de Soli “Procul Este, Profani…”

Hoje em dia com as facilidades de se encontrar programas de composição/gravação de músicas, muitos projetos pipocam aqui e ali, e isto que rola com esse Krief de Soli. Projeto formado em 2009 por Egregoir de Sang em Quebec – Canadá e nos apresenta um funeral doom extremamente arrastado e depressivo, lembrando em algumas passagens o grandioso Skepticism. Esse play contém apenas 3 sons, chegando próximo dos 50 minutos. Mei Oculi Devorati Sunt Tenebris abre essa depressão sonora, guitarras pesadas, vocais urrados mas em tons baixos, vão levando o ouvinte em direção ao apocalipse. Vocis… Imago… Funebris vem dando seqüência a esse opressivo material, com um clima de teclado e notas de piano vem estilhaçando o peito do depressivo. Linhas melódicas de guitarra surgem dando um toque especial na música. Uma coisa legal nessa faixa, que abruptamente ela muda de velocidade e cai numa pancadaria de fazer inveja à bandas tipo Dark Funeral. Benedicto Domini Sit Vobiscum começa com um violão dedilhando notas até o surgimento de um órgão de igreja, e aí sim começa a depressão dessa faixa. As letras/encarte abordam temas religiosos e recitados em latim os versículos do apocalipse.

Altamente recomendado para os seres que esperam pela Senhora Morte carregar o seu corpo cadavérico já cansado em direção a sua tumba e lá ficará esperando pela última pazada de terra.

Funeral Wedding 2011