Atroce is one of Canada’s deepest darkest secrets and this underground blasphemous secret is one that must come out from the shadows and in a raging force be expose to the world.
December 12th 2015 is when I got the opportunity to experience Atroce live and I was very curious about this gig due to several rumors about the immoral goings on of the band. I have seen some live footage via youtube prior to attending this gig and I must say that they hold true and then some to all of the rumors and can see why various venues have in ignorance banned Atroce and why certain religious fanatics have had their feathers ruffled over this band. To give you a mere taste of my experience of Atroce live- “The stage is smudged with incense, black and red candles are lit and the slowly rotting animal heads resting peacefully on top of mic stands (in videos have seen pig heads but at the show I attended the heads appeared to be sheep or goat). The air is filled with the scent of incense and if you are close enough to the stage then the sent of the animal flesh is nicely blended into it. The front man drinks from a blood filled chalice, spitting it up and upon his face and out into the air towards the crowd -yummy smile emoticon The entire show is a very ritualistic experience filled with intense brutal passion which creates an orb like net around the band making each member become a part of the one or a part of one another playing in a horrific unison. Atroce bring much power and hell bent force to the stage and their performance blew me away. It is rare to experience an underground local scene band put such professionalism into their appearance and performance. Passion, rage with a true satanic aura is how I would describe an Atroce experience. Vocally and musically Atroce play as amazing live as they sound on their album. The vocals are the best gutted death growls I have heard in a very long time and the melody and riffs throughout the gig were hard, fast and very warlike along with the very hard extremely powerful percussion which never let up -no dull moments here, not even room to give one time to think, Atroce simply suck their audience into their realm and you don’t know what is happening, just that the energy wave is good and then you are abruptly cut off and fall back into reality -hence the end of the show. Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of my live experience with this band without further adieu onto my review of their new release.
Pure evil death metal with a lacing of satanic black, Atroce is a fairly new band having formed in 2012 but really became solidified come 2013. This band is seriously one of Canada’s hidden gems that needs to be taken out from their lonely abyss which lingers in the the province of Quebec and be exposed to the unholy metal masses of this planet and with their first full length release “In Obscuritas” they should be able to take the metal world by force. no questions asked. “In Obscuritias” is a force to be reckoned with. This is one album that will be hard to top so am very curious as to what Atroce’s next future offering will be.
There is nothing soft to be found in this album and don’t expect lame satanic wannabe egotistical attitude from this band or album either. This is pure death, pure raw passion, intense force, intelligent brutality and Luciferianism put to music done right and real. Atroce’s “In Obscuritias” is a pure album, created with honest pure intention and no compromise. The past 12 hours prior to typing this review, I had listened to this album a dozen plus times and each time have found something new and intriguing. I am highly impressed with the quality both in sound and appearance of this album. Great quality imagery both inside and outside of this album’s cover with only the minimum of script -nothing too lengthy only what is needed and of course all track lyrics are presented. Now coming out from Canada and even though being from the province of Quebec most would expect that the majority if not all of these tracks would be in English however they are not. All lyrics are in French which I highly respect and would not wish to hear it any other way. This album is very European influenced and with the quality presented on all levels both on album and live, one would not think this to be a local band from the underground Canadian scene. Riffs are super fast and dance like flames from track to track. The drums are super heavy and never let up, strong energy from these percussions creating a thunderous sound straight from Hell. The bass lines are thick and forceful and vocally this album is brought together nicely. The vocals are pure demonic, as if the singer had conjured up the legions of hell into his vocal cords and each word growled out is the voice of the many. Recording on this album is professional and excellent with a great mix all blended well yet not blended into each part, leaving all to stand out on it’s own just perfectly. Musically I have found some minor influence of Morbid Angel and Watain with hints of Venom every now and then within the melodies and not saying that Atroce sound like these bands at all for this band has it’s own individuality in total.
I really love the grim tone of the opening track ‘Malediction Des Morts-Vivants’ and my other favorites here would be the dark gloom and somber force of horror of track 4 ‘Cérémonie Du Tombeau’ and the melody of the last track ‘Transition Du Mal’ This is a fast, brutal and mostly intense album which deserves the same recognition and respect of known bands such as Morbid Angel for example. One can tell that much dedication was put into this album,the talent behind it is more than worthy and, the emotion of it screams out and into the soul. - Kindra Ravenmoon

When I started listening to this work, to the quality and intensity that had, I foresaw some possibility of assimilating after a certain amount of listeners ... nope, the granitic ratchet is my head is able to observe many virtues in these Canadians, but among them it is not to keep me for another little hand, attention span ...

Debut work of these Quebecois; Death Thrash in the vein of bands style early '90s, even retain that powerful sound work that characterized the good most representative albums of that style. The main feature is the alternation of tension, a lot of changes, which is allied lot of quality in all its lines. Perhaps if more remarkable guitars, presenting multiple technical resources and constantly arranging qualify topics. It is also necessary to highlight the work of the battery, with considerable technical and forcefulness and an even more significant presence. Work together as what caught my attention about this album is the intensity of the issues (this is largely responsible for the battery) and the consistency thereof,

Who ?, perhaps compare them with some MORBID ANGEL more thrashers, although winks to SLAYER are more than remarkable. I listen when all I appreciate is that they are very good musicians, but they lack the themes that hook, that charisma, that makes you want to hear a disc. By the way the voice is torn and dying and I personally, I see a little lack of conviction.

Forget this poor old fossil anchored ideals and listen to this band ... I will enthuse. - ROC

Atroce – Death Metal – Canada
In Obscuritas – 2015
HSP Productions
9/10

La scène Métal Québécoise est relativement assez disparate offrant plusieurs sous genres de puis ses premiers balbutiements au début des années 80. Des formations, on en a vu passer et certaines d’entre elles sont demeurées suffisamment longtemps et apporté un héritage musical indéniable pour se voir attribuer un statut prestigieux. Encore aujourd’hui, des groupes qui se démarquent du lot, ça arrive prouvant que le Métal est loin d’être mort et peut être original au Québec.

J’ai eu le plaisir de partager la scène avec la formation Atroce de Québec. Hurlemort avait été approché quelques temps auparavant pour écrire une chronique du premier album du groupe, In Obscuritas paru en Décembre 2015. J’avais entendu une ou deux pièces du groupe et ce que j’avais entendu m’a incité à accepter de faire la dite chronique. C’est en voyant le groupe en spectacle que j’ai décidé de devancer cette chronique qui était prévue initialement pour la fin Mars, début Avril.

Je suis tombé sur le cul en voyant Atroce jouer ses pièces sur scène avec tout le côté théâtral morbide. Avec de que j’avais entendu et vu, ma curiosité à été piquée au vif si bien que je me suis tapé In Obscuritas en me levant Dimanche matin. Dès les premières notes de Malédiction des morts-vivants j’ai réalisé que Atroce était ce type de groupe qui ne fait pas les choses à moitié. C’est avec une excellente production que les 9 pièces de In Obscuritas s’enchainent à un rythme tellement effréné que l’album semble trop court. 31 minutes de Death Metal décapant et totalement captivant.

Atroce mise sur les riffs et les membres sont en totale possession de leurs instruments. Ici on a affaire à un réel talent non seulement pour la composition mais aussi pour l’interprétation. Le groupe a réussi à reproduire sur disque ce qui se dégage en spectacle : On pourrait pratiquement sentir l’odeur de la charogne en écoutant l’album! Pas de place pour les longueurs, c’est direct et concis, pas de taponnage, pas de tétage, Atroce nous sert une véritable claque en pleine face et nous montre comment le Death Metal doit être livré.

In Obscuritas est sans contredit un album qui va rester dans les annales du Métal Québécois. Un classique à en devenir et une bombe incendiaire lâchée sur le troupeau de moutons qui suivent les modes métalliques. Atroce vient d’entrer dans ma liste de bands Québécois favoris aux côtés de Voïvod et Insurrection. - Sinistros