Grand Halls 50

SORTILEGE – “Larmes De Heros” (Madrigal / Steamhammer, 1986) – I know what I’m gonna sound like here but I’ve gotta go ahead and do it anyway. I’m going to sound like the proverbial politician who’s gotten caught red-handed and is backed into a corner, trying to weasel his way out. “See, this is how it was…there were reasons, Senator, I really didn’t…well, you know, I mean…they made me do it? Who? Well, my constituents, they made me…I know, I know, I didn’t really want to do anything wrong, but it was for the good of the country!” Ok, ok, what the hell am I talking about, you ask. Here goes. SORTILEGE was from France. I don’t know if they have crooked politicos in old Paris but they had one helluva lot of good metal back in the early ‘80’s. Trust, High Power, Attentat Rock, I could go on ad nauseum but what’s the point, there were a zillion Killers (ha ha, that’s another one, Killers) and SORTILEGE was top o’ the heap. I remember when their debut EP came out in ’83. The minute I saw it in the store, I knew it was a stone cold lock to rule. Hell, it was on Rave-On Records, the very same label that sported the debut Mercyful Fate mini-album a year before. No further endorsement needed there but like that dastardly Danish disc, the self-titled monster was filled to the brim with scorching melodic post-NWOBHM riffola, piled high with incendiary lead guitar from one Stephane Dumont, already being hailed as the French Hank Shermann! It was only one year later that the band would deliver their 2nd effort, the full-length “Metamorphose.” Expounding upon the aural lashing they’d delivered on the EP, SORTILEGE upped the ante with the vox of Christian Augustin soaring Halford-like into the stratosphere as Dumont set his fretboard aflame. A song like “Majeste” displayed a band who could pen a metal epic with any of their contemporaries and I can’t even count the times Andre’ and I cued back the needle to try and learn Dumont’s absolutely filthy solo in “Civilisation Perdue” (which much to our chagrin, did not end up meaning “Land Of The Chickens.”) Flash forward then, 2 whole years. In that time, for a lot of us, the musical landscape had shifted seismically. A few little names like Metallica, Exodus and Slayer had worked their way into the everyday vernacular. And so, it was with thoughts involving killing posers and raining blood that we walked into Brooklyn NY’s Zig Zag Records one day in 1986. It was one of our legendary record-buying trips, excursions upon which we would skip meals in favor of saving money to buy new metal. This was serious stuff, and so, when I looked up at the “New Metal Import” wall, I spied what could only be a new SORTILEGE album, “Larmes De Heros.” The cover looked cool, a drawing of some kind of Greek or Roman…wait for it…Hero crying. I was about to add this jewel to my “must-buy” pile when I turned the jacket over and felt my stomach turn even more. The pictures of the guys in the band looked HORRIBLE!!! I mean, you have to understand…I still loved traditional metal. The problem was, that cranky infant thrash had skewed my sensibilities just a bit and…well, let’s just say I expected my metal guys to look bad-assed! SORTILEGE looked distinctly UN-bad-assed on this sleeve, all nicely coiffed and rock-starr-ish clothes to the point where one of my buds, who shall remain nameless, looked over my shoulder and was heard to say, “Jesus, they look like pussies.” From that very point I, the sheep, yes Senator…I put “Larmes De Heros” back on the rack and never looked back. Until…

…Not sure how long it was exactly. Had to be years, I’m thinking sometime at least into the early-‘90’s. I was paging through some death metal mag when I spied a picture of Death’s Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.) onstage. Nothing odd about that…what was odd, however, was the man sporting a SORTILEGE – “Larmes De Heros” t-shirt. I looked. Then I looked again. I couldn’t figure it out. How could a guy who was in something so heavy, who had concocted riffs to things from “Zombie Ritual” to “The Philosopher” in any way sponsor or support something that had looked as fey as this?! (There’s a key word in that last sentence and you probably already know what it is). And then my mind began to work on scenarios: 1) He’d met the band, they gave him a shirt and he didn’t want to be rude and turn it down. 2) Someone gave him the shirt as a gift. 3) Chuck was a fool and didn’t really know anything about music. Ok, that was enough…time to get to the bottom of this. From the old days, I had kept in touch with Chuck and decided to give him a call. The conversation went something like this in abbreviated form: “Hey Ray, how’s it been going, man?” “Chuck, I’ve gotta ask you something. I saw a picture of you with a SORTILEGE – “Larmes De Heros” shirt on.” “Yeah, definitely.” “Why?” “Why not, man? That’s like the best French metal album ever!” Stunned silence on my end. “Ray, you there?” “Uh…yeah I’m here. I have to admit, I never heard it…they looked so….um…” “Yeah, on the cover, I know. But you’ve gotta hear it man, it completely rules! Stephane Dumont is just like crying, he’s screaming and killing, the leads are insane. Christian’s vocals are sick, he’s singing so good! And the songs are God. There are these 2 seven-minute epics that are…man, give me your address, I’ll record it for you.” True to form (wasn’t the first cassette…yes, I said “cassette” Chuck ever sent me) the package showed up in the mail a couple days later. Did I play that sumbitch constantly for about a year?! Can Geico really save you a couple hundred bux on your car insurance?!

To be honest, I really feel like I ought to just let “Evil” Chuck Schuldiner’s ringing endorsement stand as better than any review I could ever write about SORTILEGE’s 3rd and final recorded output. I will embellish a bit though, as I feel like I owe this band and album quite a bit in terms of the years and unfounded derision with which I showered it. Folks, this damn thing’s got it all…Ass-busting rockers like “La Hargne Des Tordus.” The towering twin epics of “Quand Un Aveugle Reve” and “Marchand d’Hommes.” Christian unveiling a vocal tour de force for the ages and Mr. Dumont setting himself in stone as one of the greatest metal guitarists of all-time. His soloing on “Chasse Le Dragon” and “Mourir Pour Une Princesse” reaches Akira-like levels in friction burn damage. Sadly, this brilliant album would be the last statement issued by SORTILEGE. I s’pose this was due to a combination of deadly errors: the always fickle musical scene, a questionable choice in clothes and hairstyle and possibly worse of all, a bunch of ignoramuses like myself who let those silly pics of the boys put me off from even hearing it. So, yes, Senator, I stand guilty as charged. The good news is, my constituents, you can still go free and enjoy. This bad boy has been re-issued at least twice on CD, so it's out there! Heroes End Ray Dorsey