Band:	Misanthrope
Album:	1666... Theatre Bizarre
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	November 1995

01. Gargantuan Decline
02. Courtisane Syphilitique
03. 1666... Theatre Bizarre
04. L'Autre Hiver
05. Pirouetting Through The Gloom
06. Aphrodite Marine
07. Medieval Embroidery
08. Mylène
09. Trumpets Of Hypochondria
10. Schattengesang
11. La Dernière Pierre

The band prepares its instruments. It sure sounds like classical music... But after two minutes you get into Misanthrope's third album, and you get it - it's a 1995 progressive death metal album.

I'm sure there was prog death in the mid 90's (well - Cynic comes to mind with their terrific Focus album, but I think there were very few band to play this type of music), but nothing sounded like Misanthrope, and the first song "Gargantuan Decline" shows all the talent this band has; top musicianship, bold bass lines, extreme tempo changes (from slow paced romantic solo to extreme double bass death metal with orchestra sampling, complex song structures (no chorus/stanza repeat) - but also its main drawback, which is singing in French. The orchestra samples feel overused and a little unnatural sometimes, but the songs as a whole sound like nothing you heard before (well, in 1995).

Misanthrope's sound is original and I guess it derives from the band's desire to sing about French culture themes. The band is named after Molière's comedy play, Le Misanthrope Ou L'Atrabilaire Amoureux, which premiered on June 4th, 1666 - hence the name of the album - and the music on this album feels influenced from that era.

Sadly, I don't speak French and can't assess the quality of the lyrics, but based on the names of the songs, well, I wish I could speak French... I wish someone who speaks French will review it too, since info in English about the band and album is hard to find.

Back to the music, song number 2, "Courtisane Syphilitique", starts with a few seconds of harp music and then turns to death metal, but after another minute it slows down almost to a halt, to what sounds as a sad cry - and the prog death rollercoaster goes on.

I think this album is really innovative and fresh with a unique sound that both death and prog fans can relate to. While Misanthrope's first two albums sound raw to me, 1666... Theatre Bizarre is where their sound is shaped and it can be felt on their next albums.

My favorite songs are, well, all the songs on this album. Every song here can be the album opener or closer, no fillers just thrillers . But if I had to choose, it would be "Gargantuan Decline", "Courtisane Syphilitique", "1666... Theatre Bizarre", the dreamy "Aphrodite Marine", "Medieval Embroidery" and "Schattengesang" - and I named these only because I had to...