GALIBOT – Euch'Mau Noir Bis

vote
7.5

• Bands:
  GALIBOT
• Duration: 00:31:48
• Available from: 02/20/2026
• Label:

• Les Acteurs De L'Ombre Productions

Streaming not yet available

As far as we are concerned, with this “Euch'Mau Noir Bis”, the transalpine Galibot hands down win the award for the category 'most original concept of all time (or almost)' in the black metal field. In more than thirty years as followers of the Black Flame, in fact, we had never come across a band that had, at the basis of its work, the narration of the mining history of its place of belonging (in this case, the north of France): this, however, is what our band propose to us, in an absolutely convincing, serious and well-documented way, as certified by the lyrics of the various songs, which are truly intense and well written.
If, however, you are intrigued by the presence of the term 'bis' in the title of this work, the reason is easy to say: this work is nothing other than the revival, re-recorded, rearranged and revisited (with the addition of the song “Schlamms”, coming from a previous demo and also re-recorded) of Galibot's debut album, entitled (obviously) “Euch'Mau Noir” and published independently in 2024.

Evidently, the band believes a lot in these songs, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity guaranteed by the distribution agreement signed by their label with Season Of Mist to give them the right exposure, making the most of them through a restyling that does not affect the essence of the original versions in the slightest: although this new edition benefits from a decidedly fuller and more professional sound and more mature and focused arrangements, in fact, the original dark and 'dusty' essence has been preserved, giving complete meaning to the entire operation.
As we had already had the opportunity to see in 2024, the atmospheric black metal proposed to us by Galibot can be placed halfway between the most modern trends of the genre (Mgla, Gaerea and Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, among others) and other more classic ones (the latest Drudkh, Forteresse and Misþyrming); the result is a lumpy, dense but, at the same time, also chilling, raw and abrasive sound, excellently represented by the leaden gait of the intense and enthralling opener “Cheval De Fosse”.

The music of the transalpines is profoundly 'guitar-oriented': in fact, it is up to Thomas Deffrasnes' guitars to outline the impenetrable anthracite colored backgrounds and the precious mineral veins that characterize the unraveling of the songs, between suffocating riffs and well-thought-out melodic inlays.
The vocal performance of singer Diffamie is also excellent, while the performance of the rhythm section (made up of bassist Clément Joly and drummer Robin Grabmann) is very solid, capable of giving the general sound the necessary compactness and monolithic nature.
The underlying drama of Galibot's sound explodes in all its deadly desolation in the successful “Courrièrs”, “Les Nords” and “Schlamms”, but ours are convincing even when things become more ferocious, as in “Terre D'Euch Mau” (the longest and most complex song of the lot, as well as an authentic gem of the entire work) or more epic and dry, as in “Barbara”, but it is the entire “Euch'Mau Noir Bis” convinces with its concreteness, emotionality and conceptual depth, authentic added value of an album that may not rewrite the rules of the genre, but which manages to emerge from the crowd thanks to its incontrovertible and distinguishable personality. Promoted without reservations.