Review Summary: How can you be so ANTI-Diapsiquir with an amazing and weird album like A.N.T.I.?
Have you ever wanted to experience what it would be like to live the street-life of Detroit, or any other city where you are surrounded by drugs, violence, lust, and poverty? Well, the French black metal group, Diapsiquir, is back with their third full-length album, A.N.T.I., for your listening pleasure as their strongest effort and most experimental album yet. Through listening to this hour-long masterpiece, in the comfort and safety of your home, you can now experience life on the streets of any destitute city where drugs, violence, and pure chaos are ways of life. A.N.T.I. is by far the most appealing and experimental album that Diapsiquir has released in their discography. Even a person who is not a metal head could listen to this and enjoy it, after getting past how weird it is.
Before going any further, here is a brief history of Diapsiquir to know who this mysterious, deviant music group is and what they have done in their music career. Hailing from Dourdan, France, Diapsiquir formed in 1996 as an experimental black metal band, consisting of only two members from the band Orakle. To date, the band still has only two consistent members under the names of SXC and the original mastermind behind the group, Toxik Harmst. Through the years, they have come out with some demos and their first full-length album was released in 2003, Lubie Satanique Depravee (L.S.D.), which was typical black metal with some experimental tendencies. With Diapsiquir being the crazy band that they are, they went a step further in the exploratory direction with their second LP, Virus STN in 2005, which established more of a name for themselves in the experimental black metal realm with its industrial and doom metal elements, along with other French-sounding musical elements and whatever else they felt like adding to the album. The band then fell off the music map for six years, then released a glorious album, known as A.N.T.I., which this review is covering.
To begin, you, the listeners, are probably asking how is A.N.T.I. more experimental than all the albums Diapsiquir has released before? While it has elements found on all previous albums, two major differences that make this album stand out from past albums are that they have partially ditched their black metal sound, though it can still be heard in parts of the album, and they have added the completely new element of rapping. Now because of the rap element, please do not conjure up the vision in your head that this is going to be like Rage Against the Machine or nu-metal because there is absolutely no comparison. What Diapsiquir does on this album is combine true hip-hop with black metal, which is probably the most original and most contradicting sound a band could possibly create in music. So in other words, if you have been searching for that one band that is able to combine hip-hop and black metal, you have found the perfect band with the perfect album. Some of the most notable songs to listen to if you are looking for rapping and black metal are “Avant” being number one, “A.N.T.I.,” and “Kmkz.”
Now with Diapsiquir growing out of some of their black metal sound on A.N.T.I., what have they replaced it with? Aside from all the experimenting with the rapping, they have added more melody in every aspect, particularly in the vocals but the guitar riffs show a lot also. There are also more industrial elements through more samples, synthesizers, and a mix of songs with both programmed and real drums. They have even added more French-sounding musical elements and then even more piano parts. Also, while Toxic Harmst still has his key angry yells and sorrowful screams on this album, like on Virus STN, he definitely sings more, though they are not the greatest clean vocals, but they are still enjoyable and packed full of emotion.
While all the lyrics are in French and Google Translater is not the best way to see what is even being said in English, they are still true to what Diapsiquir has always done: they are very much tongue-in-cheek lyrics and are tainted with everything from Satanism and sex to being anti-life and whatever else that you can possibly think of under the influence of drugs and street-life. The lyrics and lyrics themes are not so much about any morals, because they have none, as much as they are for entertainment, if you want to think of them in that way. They are still enjoyable none the less and quite humorous at times in their bizarreness and nastiness.
Aside from all the differences already stated between Virus STN and A.N.T.I., Diapsiquir also does not hold any doom metal elements on A.N.T.I. like those that were heard on Virus STN. In comparison, the biggest difference between the two albums is that A.N.T.I. is more structured and focused in the music, even though it is hard to describe Diapsiquir as a focused band with all their LSD-influenced music. Because of A.N.T.I. being more structured and less fragmented, that is probably why it has a more easily accessible and enjoyable sound to anyone, though it is just as experimental. Now even though the album is more structured, there are still moments where you have no clue what is going on and you have to wonder. Along with the more accessible sound, the production is very crisp and aids in creating a perfect sounding atmosphere for the music Diapsiquir is trying to create on A.N.T.I.. Of course, if you pay attention to how a lot of black metal, particularly older black metal, was and is produced, it deliberately is bad and dirty, but the cleaner production on A.N.T.I. works for the music that Diapsiquir creates.
In the end, Diapsiquir is Diapsiquir and there will always be a new surprise with whatever music they create, but A.N.T.I. is a close to perfect album in all aspects of the music with virtually no criticism to hold against it. Satanism and anti-everything good and moral in life never sounded so appealing and attractive until this album came out. A.N.T.I. is by far one of the weirdest and most experimental albums you will hear in your entire life, coming from one of the most original and underground bands ever.
Recommended (Favorite) Songs:
"Peste"
"Fuel"
"A.N.T.I."
"Avant"
"Fais-le"
