Autarcie- Horizons Funestes (Purity Through Fire first press 2019 Lp)

Autarcie's style is old school and no frills. Most of the riffing involves interlocking tremolo picked guitars, one lower end so as to denote rhythm guitar and the other providing lead. Blast beats buoy the guitars during fast passages. The bass is audible and provides a low end which adds depth to music which could otherwise sound thin. The production has a decrepit rawness that lends itself perfectly to the music, helping create that raw, wintry atmosphere attributed to the album by the label. Vocalist and lyricist Nokturn rasps his way over the music satisfyingly. Autarcie tap the French tradition of melancholy and sombre melody that bands such as Vlad Tepes and Mütiilation pioneered, and it's quite possible that the duo behind the band are fans of fellow Frenchmen Celestia. They are by no means a carbon copy band, however; rather than simply worshipping the old sound, they invoke it to create something individual.