XCIII The Blue
01.Sway
02.Abstract
03.Life Seeks Death
04.The Blue
05.S.A.L.T
06.Sway Remix
07.Abstract Remix
Guillaume (All instruments, Vocals)
Maélise (Additional Vocals)
Sarah (Additional Vocals)
XCIII is an Avantgarde Rock / Metal project located in France. The bands name is a reference to Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal", poem 93, titled "A une passante".
Its aim is to combine different styles going from Black Metal to Trip Hop with no limitation, but with the will to keep a musical and lyrical coherence between all the tracks.
A kind of "Art Total" where music, lyrics and pictures respond to each other. The former idea to play a folk black metal disappeared by the time Guillaume composed new songs, which were more open to new horizons, including Experimental and Progressive elements.
The gradual transformation of XCIII has reached a provisional end with The Blue EP, which was released on the 10th of December 2019 to celebrate the ten years of the existence of the project. Even more sensual and direct, it overlaps all the band's experiments of the last decade, even more eclectic, with some hint of industrial Metal, but also more pop-influenced atmospheres. Several songs were specially composed in order to be played live. The 2021 digipack version contains a bonus track as well as two remixes by BartosAntos and by Maquerelle.
'Sway' starts with a simple guitar riff then via a sampled speech begins to form with synthesizers, as it builds female vocals come in and the song starts to take form, relentless in its building of instrumentation the final piece creates a nice easy to listen 'pop song'.
Getting a touch weirder is 'Abstract' reversed synth pulses and sampled vocal builds and then the whole song changes with some heavy guitar playing and and some more spoken words.
Track Three is 'Life Seeks Death' a strange but well composed mixture of pop music with "hints" of the heavier stuff.
It is 'The Blue' that stands out for me, a superb atmospheric near gothic song, haunting vocals and great keyboard work.
'Salt' has an 80's sound that would have been perfect for '4AD'.
That just leaves us the two remixes, which don't seem to add anything interesting to the normal versions and seem a touch pointless.
Rating 7/10
For Fans Of: Portishead, Massive Attack, Garbage, Brian Eno
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