This is the debut album from French modern metal band Vestige.
To give a flavour of the sort of hybrid style that Vestige play, the promo blurb states that Janis is for fans of Deftones, Alcest, Loathe, and Sylvaine. In practice, this means a modern metal blend of post-metal and black/shoegaze. This results in songs that are highly atmospheric, yet also song-focused.
There’s a darkly ethereal quality to the music that speaks of its blackgaze influence, yet also an aggressive heaviness that is a product of both the 90s and the modern day. In this, the promo blurb’s comparisons are very well-chosen, as Janis does indeed sound much like a combination of those bands. Additionally, you can hear nu-metal and metalcore elements, as well as a Gojira influence too. You could in theory also talk about acts such as Svalbard and Pupil Slicer, as both bands also incorporate blackgaze into their otherwise non-gazey sound, but both approach their music differently than Vestige; I mention them here only to illustrate that Janis may operate in ostensibly similar waters, but they have their own voice.
Janis is well-written and immersive, delivered by a band that clearly know what they want to say. Theirs is a textured sound, benefiting from an understanding of how the music’s various ingredients should go together to produce something that’s palatable, rather than ill-tasting. Vestige merge their harsher tendencies largely seamlessly with their -gaze foundations, and Janis is well-realised because of this.
Taking the listener on a journey through melancholic moods and cathartic rage, Janis is a well-rounded and versatile album that combines its component parts well. The songs offer a compelling blend of emotive depth, shoegaze resplendence, melodic grace, atmospheric presence, and aggressive heaviness.
The vocals mostly range from airy cleans and deeper, more potent cleans, (my favourite), to caustic screams and deep dark growls, and are well-performed throughout. The singer of Alcest guest on one song, lending his talents to a band that are obviously spiritually related to the style his band originated.
Janis is a record that caters to fans of heavy music that favour a beauty and the beast approach to metal. Vestige’s brand of atmosphere and hostility mixes older and newer sounds into something that makes itself a home in 2024’s crowded landscape. It’s a grower, and surely an acquired taste for some, but worth spending some time with to unlock its charms.
Wonderbox Metal 