Description
Still sealed with slipcase
Originally known as Blood Wave, this Parisian Heavy Metal outfit adopted the name Sortilege (Sorcery) in October 1981 and duly found a ready audience in thier homeland as they toured as support to Samson and Def Leppard in 1983. The group debuted in Britain with the track ‘Cyclope De L’etang’ on the Ebony Records compilation album ‘Metal Warriors’, but signed to German label Steamhammer for a string of albums after releasing their first ever, self-titled affair on the Dutch Rave On label. The opening album for Steamhammer would be 1984’s Metamorphose, released domestically via Devil’s Recordings. Metalmorphose was this band best album from their all too short discography. With the success of Metamorphose, Sortilege was able to participate in several music festivals in France, Germany and the Netherlands, alongside some of the greatest names of hard rock. After that, it was clear that Sortilege became one of the best French heavy metal bands of its time. But the Parisians were still angry at their record company, dissatisfied with the way they were distributed. The second album, Larmes De Heros, was published in 1986. Like its predecessor, it was recorded in Germany. An English version was recorded at the same time, intended primarily for the German market (but in fact it was the French version that sold best in Germany). On this second album, Sortilege proved they were not a group designed to keep running in place, quite the contrary. Larmes De Heros is very different from its predecessor. The music here is much more mature, it is felt even in the texts. Listening to this album feels like that Sortilege paid particular attention to their new songs. While the music is less aggressive, the melodic aspect is absolutely unstoppable. Alas, Larmes De Heros received many critical acclaims, the public response was less enthusiastic, part of the public haven’t accepted loss of aggressiveness. Tired of the lack of public support, difficulties encountered in relation to record companies, the members decided to disband. A sad end for a group that had just released the masterpiece of French heavy metal.
Track list:
1. Elephant Man
2. Win Her Heart
3. Flesh And Bones
4. When A Blind Man Dreams
5. Fight The Dragon
6. Messenger
7. In The Rainbow
8. Bleeding Mountain
9. Sagittarius