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