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LA CHUTE

Chrysalide

Prog Folk


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Chrysalide La Chute album cover
2.58 | 7 ratings | 4 reviews | 0% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 2006

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Prologue (1:19)
2. Crux Via (5:12)
3. Crux Angelica (8:25)
4. Crux Obscura (5:23)
5. La Chute (5:47)
6. Ballade de l'Ange de la Mort (5:06)
7. Sanctuaires (7:56)
8. La Peste (5:58)
9. Le Vide (9:26)
10. Epilogue (3:50)

Total Time: 58:22

Line-up / Musicians

- Geoffroy Vincens / vocals, bass guitar, percussions, cümbüs
- Jacques Malinvaud / guitars, cello
- Claire Gatineaud / vocals (1,6, 8 & 10)

Releases information

Recorded between November 1997 and April 1998 (this first version with Marie Golfier on vocals was never made public).
Rerecorded in 2006 (with Geoffroy Vincens taking over the vocals).
Available for free download on the band's website.

Thanks to Tuzvihar for the addition
and to ProgLucky for the last updates
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CHRYSALIDE La Chute ratings distribution


2.58
(7 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(0%)
0%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(29%)
29%
Good, but non-essential (29%)
29%
Collectors/fans only (29%)
29%
Poor. Only for completionists (14%)
14%

CHRYSALIDE La Chute reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by ClemofNazareth
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk Researcher
3 stars I believe I wrote once that I would never write a review about a French band again, and that I didn’t understand any of them. Turns out I’m partially a liar. None of them still make any sense for me to speak of, but here’s a review of one anyway.

Chrysalide appear to have been around in some fashion or another for ten years or so, but this album was recorded just last year as part of a trilogy that to-date has a beginning and an end but no middle – this and ‘Après la Chute’ were released on the band’s web site late last spring, and the third album (part two of the trilogy) has been in development since. The lyrics and concept date back to the mid-nineties, and tell a meandering tale of creation, fall, destruction, deliverance, and all the themes one would expect in an epic of humanity. There may be a religious theme here, but it’s hard to say unless you are a fluent speaker of the language (and maybe not even then – who knows?).

The vocals are consistent throughout, and even if they are a bit ponderous at times the overall sound is mostly pleasant. The instrumentation is mostly acoustic, guitars and bass, some cello, and percussion including tambourine. I personally would have pegged these guys a bit closer to post-rock with their abstract-leaning instrumentation and rather unstructured arrangements, but they can be compared in a broad sense to the understated, moody tone of Harmonium or maybe Emeraude, but with much more minimalism in instrumentation and mood.

If there’s a highlight here it’s probably the instrumental “La Ballade de l'Ange de la Mort”, not a true instrumental since there is some wordless vocal play throughout but mostly acoustic guitar and percussion that includes a strident and extended crescendo to evoke the mood of death that marks its theme.

Chrysalide are a bit of an acquired taste and not for everyone for sure. But if you are into moody French music with rambling anthropological themes you may enjoy them. I’m torn between two and three stars but since they do what they do with some sense of consistency and will likely appeal to some people on first listen who haven’t heard them before I think three stars is probably not too much. Recommended to curious prog and folk fans looking for something a bit different.

peace

Review by aapatsos
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Listening to CHRYSALIDE'S second release, La Chute, I concluded that for most of the general prog audience their music would be in the love-or-hate category. Having listened to their debut, this thought was emerging even more.

If you are not familiar with CHRYSALIDE, their style of play is based on acoustic guitars and basses, percussion and both male and female vocals sung in French language (which can be either charming or appalling, depending on your taste...). The main difficulty for me remains the vocals part as I don't happen to have knowledge of the French language. La Chute is a 'continuation' of the band's debut, both in style of music and creativity. The music is identical - can be described as dark acoustic folk.

Sadly, I have to repeat myself in saying that the major issue with this album is repetition. The use of the instruments really does not help in producing something more 'colourful' and interesting and the production, although not bad, could have been improved. The male vocals sometimes seem to sound a bit out of tune (or maybe it's just only me). The overall length of the album (similar to their debut again) does not justify the number of innovative ideas, although there are some very nice melodic moments that lift the mood.

Female vocals - one of the positive sides of the release - could have been used to a higher extent to give a bit more diversity to the 'flatness' of the album. I can't really pick out any specific song as a highlight, apart from the dark tunes in the introduction and epilogue. In my opinion, this record is for specific tastes - the knowledge of French will help you appreciate it more.

I don't totally dismiss La Chute, but I feel it will appeal to a limited number of prog fans. To summarise, I found too many similarities with their debut, and overall quality is one of them.

Review by Neu!mann
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars The enigmatic duo of Geoffroy Vincens and Jacques Malinvard recorded an austere trilogy of albums between 2004 and 2008, each one available for complimentary download from their web site, and all three close to identical in technique and presentation. So it only makes sense to follow their good example by providing three likewise matching reviews: read any one at random, and you'll get the gist of all three albums.

The hermetic style of the trilogy is an acquired taste (to say the least), even to ears drawn by habit toward challenging music. On paper it doesn't look to be so difficult: the instrumentation is disarmingly basic (acoustic guitar, modest bass lines, the occasional cello and/or tambourine, some monophonic vocals). And the compositions are even simpler, at times resembling the liturgical plainsong heard in some cloistered medieval abbey.

But these guys approach the art of making music like penitent monks wearing hairshirts, with every limited chord change punishable by self-excoriation. Heard individually, each song has its own spellbinding charm and mystery. But listening to an entire album (or all three together: not recommended!) can be a heavy cross to bear (borrowing a thematic image from the music itself).

I have to admire the band's uncompromising aesthetics. Another, astute Prog Collaborator here compared their style to Post Rock, which makes a lot of sense: the music is almost radical in its minimalism. The most recent album in the sequence, "Triptyque" (actually the second in the narrative trilogy) is probably the most accomplished and varied, but these are relative distinctions at best.

The concept too is equally obscure. There's some attractive, monochromatic Christian symbolism in the artwork and song titles, but the overall mood is more spiritual than overtly religious, and happily muted by the language barrier (a quick digression: if only NEIL MORSE could show equal restraint in his sledgehammer Prog Rock proselytizing). Nevertheless, there's no reason why, with a little editing, the entire trilogy couldn't have been presented on a single CD (or addressed in a single review, like here).

To date the music of Chrysalide has attracted only a handful of intrepid Prog Archive reviewers (mine is the first contribution in well over a year). The free downloads are a welcome act of Christian charity, but the band probably didn't have much choice: these albums would be a hard sell in any marketplace, cyber or otherwise.

Latest members reviews

4 stars I was attracted by this album mostly because I speak French and it was offered free on their website. I did not have any expectations on my first listen, but I must say that I'm pretty surprised by this group. With only an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar and some very basic percussion, they achiev ... (read more)

Report this review (#176391) | Posted by Astrodomine | Wednesday, July 9, 2008 | Review Permanlink

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