Despite this album’s title, it will indeed be the final utterance from the French ‘Rock In Opposition’ band Present, as it’s creator Roger Trigaux passed away during it’s completion in 2021. The band members carried on to complete the recording, and thank goodness they did, or this final work might have remained unheard, which would have been a tragedy.
The music on this album is as vital and relevant as any you are likely to hear this year. It is the perfect soundtrack to a 21st century which has so far turned out to be frighteningly unsettled. Roger Trigaux has encapsulated the terror of a world hell bent on self destruction. It is utterly uncompromising, and unapologetic, and as such, perhaps not an easy listen. It is however an essential listen, and has the power to transfix the listener with its dark beauty. It begins with Contre, which announces itself with a machine gun-like salvo before settling into a diabolical and demented hard rock onslaught. It’s like a demonic version of King Crimson careering into the void. François Mignot’s guitar is well to the fore, spitting notes and staccato bursts in all directions. Some gutteral ranting (in French of course) punctuate the music backed by a menacing rhythm dominated by hard hitting drums (Dave Kerman) and piano (Pierre Chevalier or Trigaux himself). Liesbeth Lambrecht’s swooping and diving violin add to the doomy atmosphere. There are brief passages of relative calm, but the unrelenting march soon restarts as we plough on to an abrupt end. It is a statement of intent that gives fair warning that this is not music to be trifled with.
This Is NOT The End, part 2 is a bit more sedate, but no less unsettling. Bass and piano lead us in, then violin, and sax and clarinet (Kurt Budé) take up the theme before the rest of the band join. It begins to sound very like a funeral march, with guitar, bass and violin leading the others in a parade towards some terrible fate. The melody is simple and repetitive, but extrapolated in interesting different directions as we march on. Trigaux uses repetition to build tension, and it works brilliantly, leading us through the piece, whether we want to be lead or not. The music has us in its grip and will not let go. It is chamber rock at its most chilling; Trigaux devoted his final years to writing this music, and it makes for a monumental epitaph. There is a definite sense of being on a slow journey to somewhere, but the destination is unclear. Of course, in linear terms, the answer is the final piece, This Is NOT The End, part 1.
The album’s climax is a sprawling 26 minutes, but is riveting throughout. A simple double piano note provides a pulse around which sax, clarinet, bass, guitar and keys weave their magical threads. Stabs of fuzzed guitar jolt, percussive knocking and maniacal laughter, then bass clarinet joining, adding gravitas. It all combines to create a sense of vague dread, then the band come to life in a dreadful riff heralding some kind of bombastic apocalyptic nightmare. Trigaux’s musical vision is shockingly real and not for the faint hearted. Around half way through, the nightmare recedes, but the sense of foreboding and tension builds again, until Mignot’s guitar picks out a repeated pattern, and the pace quickens, drums and bass and keys adding to the sense of urgency. The band’s convulsions become more complex as they hurtle towards a long slow fade, and the double piano note takes over, as it began. The album title was right after all, there is no end.
And to be honest, if this album gets anyone new to listen to Roger Trigaux’s music, then it doesn’t end, but begins anew. And that would be a very good thing. It is music which is progressive in the real sense of the word. Bold and refusing to make any allowance for compromise, and never bowing to expectation, it is, as the publicity blurb says, classical music for a new 21st century; a new Dark Age.
TRACK LISTING
01. Contre (7:57)
02. This Is NOT The End, part 2 (12:15)
03. This Is NOT The End, part 1 (26:29)
Total Time – 46:41
NB: The Bandcamp Page leads off with a ‘taster extract’ from This Is NOT The End, part 1 and is not part of the CD.
MUSICIANS
Roger Trigaux – Keyboards, Vocals, Composition
François Mignot – Guitar
Pierre Chevalier – Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
Dave Kerman – Percussion
Keith Macksoud – Bass
Kurt Budé – Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Liesbeth Lambrecht – Violin
Udi Koomran – Sound
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cuneiform Records
Country of Origin: Belgium
Date of Release: 29th March 2024
LINKS
Present – Website | Facebook (Group)