No Terror in the Bang – Heal

Famous filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is quoted as saying “there’s no terror in the bang, only the anticipation of it.” He was comparing an impending thunderstorm to his vast body of work (he directed over 50 films). A sextet of musicians from Rouen, France thought this described their style of music perfectly. Hey presto, another excellent French band was born bearing the name No Terror in the Bang.

Their first release was in 2021, the 13 track ‘Eclosion’ was lauded for its heavy rhythms and triumphant cinematic orchestrations. With their second album the band members feel they are showing a different level of balance and composure. Within the ten new tracks of “Heal” the new direction swings between fragility and fury. If that floats your boat, read on.

The swing between styles is immediately evident in the opening track ‘Hostile.’ It swerves crazily from tinkling piano to heavy chords then sweet vocals from Sofia Bortoluzzi, and back again to the more intense. In the more aggressive parts Sofia delivers a suitably harder vocal style. In the space of this one song, it is abundantly clear that she is a serious talent vocal wise.

That vocal range becomes even more evident in ‘Retch.’ Here her most ferocious element comes to light. It is perhaps the most extreme track on the album, although it has mellow parts. You can witness this because it is also the one the band have chosen to make a video of.

In certain places an obvious comparison to Jinjer can be made and ‘Insolent’ is a prime example. It is not just the switches from soft to heavy and back, but also the cadences in the vocal lines. Overall, although similar, the rest of the musicians serve up something that separates the band from their Ukrainian counterparts.

After these first three numbers I was almost ready to pigeonhole the band. Then they throw a curved ball in the form of ‘Monster.’ It is a brooding, powerful song unlike any of the previous three. Halfway through it builds to a heavier version of itself and soon became one of my favourite tracks on this album.

‘Lulled by the Waves’ is also a track of two halves, initially mellow before turning to heavy dramatic chords and some vocal gymnastics from Sofia. This is followed by ‘Palindrome’ which is even mellower. There is a point where it almost gets heavier, but then it continues in the same fashion with some spoken words (in French).

Photo by Aurélien Cardot

Ferocity returns in ‘OD’, at least that is, for the first half of the track. The second half consists of an ethereal breakdown leading to a heavy, slightly chaotic staccato riff. The emotion in Sofia’s vocals in the title track ‘Heal’ is sublime and beguiling. That applies to the softer sweeter version of her range and also the harder edge. A slow rhythmic beat accompanied by sultry spoken word leads you to ‘King With no Crown.’ It soon turns into a hard-hitting rocker. If this makes it sound straight forward, nothing could be further from the truth. Every track including this one is complex with multiple changes in time signatures and moods. Hats off to the whole band for some excellent compositions.

Photo by Aurélien Cardot

This mighty fine album finishes with ‘Warrior’ in which Sofia gives us soaring vocals and rasping screams. The track builds slowly and ominously before exploding into heavier realms. The final run in once again builds with Sofia delivering those soaring notes.

That pigeonhole is still elusive, the closest I can offer is melodic metalcore, but that doesn’t really cover it. This genre changeling of a band with their kaleidoscope range of styles are a breath of fresh air. It is only 2 weeks into the new year, and I do believe I am looking at an early contender for my album of the year.

Track List:

1. Hostile
2. Retch
3. Insolent
4. Monster
5. Lulled by the Waves
6. Palindrome
7. OD
8. Heal
9. King With no Crown
10. Warrior