L'Autrichienne (CD - 2008)

Jucifer's marriage of metal and shoegazer reaches a potent but unlikely climax on this 21-track concept record about the French Revolution. Like the historical event it chronicles, L'AUTRICHIENNE--the Athens, Georgia, duo's sophomore outing for Relapse--is a long and intense monster, featuring stark, unsettling emotional swings. Singer Amber Valentine delivers banshee shrieks ("Traitors") and stunning sweetness (the title track) with a passion matched only by her stunning riff capabilities, while her partner drummer Edgar Livengood pummels the whole glorious mess straight into the ground.

There are few bands you can honestly say can morph so flawlessly from song to song that you could fool the average listener into thinking each track was a different band. The 2008 release by Jucifer, L'Autrichienne, is certainly one such album. With hard rock and metal becoming quite predictable and same-sounding by the time of the album's release, it's a treat to hear a band continuously switch gears. Influenced equally by skuzz-indie rockers Royal Trux as much as the behemoth metal of Mastodon, Jucifer keep you guessing as to what their next move will be. Cases in point: an anthemic Sabbath-ish album-opening ass-kicker ("Blackpowder"), a track that shows Jucifer can shred with the most extreme metallists out there ("Thermidor"), slow-as-torture Melvins-esque metal ("Deficit"), and even chimey guitar stuff ("To the End"). It takes a very talented vocalist to keep up with all the genre-shifting, and Amber Valentine is certainly up to the task, as it appears that there isn't a rock style Valentine can't sing or the band can't riff out. For those who (understandably) feel that metal has become increasingly one-dimensional in modern times, L'Autrichienne proves Jucifer is in a class all by themselves. Cheers! ~ Greg Prato minimize