Les Discrets – Live at Roadburn (2015)

Marking the end of Les Discrets metal/rock musical era, today we have their “Live at Roadburn” release. Having been lucky enough to be at the show in person, I have to say that this magical occasion was very well captured for eternity in this live release. Featuring eight songs from the set the band delivered that day, the crystal clear audio from this release brings shivers to my spine just by listening to it.

Opening with “Linceul d'hiver” the atmosphere is instantly set with such a majestic piece. The band’s sound has always had a very unique aura around it and when I have seen them live its perfectly translated. With a lineup boosting Fursy Teyssier (on vocals/guitar) and Alcest musicians Neige (bass guitar), Zero (guitars / vocals) and Winterhalter (drums), unknowingly that was the last time that Les Discrets would sound like this. The tempo picks up with the lush “L'Échappée”, one of our favorite songs and most epic pieces of atmospheric music ever written.

Almost blasting into a Black Metal song, “Les Feuilles de l'olivier” and “Au creux de l'hiver” deliver the heaviest highlights of the night, as well as some majestic vocal arrangements that perfectly combine Fursy’s and Zero’s talents. The atmosphere that the band creates is quite magical as each note flows naturally from the band’s musical compositions. Full musical trance is induced by the band’s shoegazy pieces “Le Mouvement perpetual”, “La nuit muette”, and our personal favorite “Chanson d'automne”. The band’s very unique style shines through these songs as they blend as one long hypnotic passage (at least for us!).

Sadly the live album did not include the cover they played of “Gas in Veins” from Amesoeurs. This is probably one of the very few times that we could get to see ‘most’ of Amesoeurs actually play live. Closing with their masterpiece “Song for Mountains”, it was a bittersweet time listening to this song knowing it was the last song of the night, but the best one of the evening as well. This is one of our top 5 songs of all time and quite a delight to see it live and close such a great era for the band.

Overall, having seen the band’s first and last shows (as a metal/rock entity) makes us extremely enjoy this release. We would have been even more impressed if there was video accompanying the music, but in this way we can focus more on the aural experience than some visual cues. Any fan of Les Discrets will indeed love this release, so don’t miss out on purchasing it. For the ‘uber fans’ this is the ultimate testament of the band’s musical journey (to date) and nicely summarizes their atmospheric magic.

Label: Prophecy Productions

Release: April 17th, 2015

Genre: Post-Rock / Shoegaze / Experimental

Country: France