The Reticent – Le Temps Detruit Tout (Heaven and Hell Records, 29 May 2012)

 
Well, shit.

I hate when I feel so overwhelmed by all the stuff I’ve got going on, that I start forgetting about things I was planning on doing. Does that happen to you? It’s like, everything needs my attention, everything needs to be a priority, and some stuff just unfortunately ends up falling through the cracks.

For example: it was about six weeks ago that I wrote about The Reticent — that post was just a comment on a news item about a politically-charged message that the band’s mastermind (and sole member) Chris Hathcock had shared on his Facebook page. But, at the same time, I had mentioned the (then) upcoming album (the band’s third full-length) Le Temps Detruit Tout (“Time Destroys All”), and I did mention then that I was planning on writing a review for the album.

Well, two weeks later, the album came out (on Heaven and Hell Records, who also released the previous two — in fact, the band’s 2006 debut Hymns for the Dejected was the first album that label ever released). And since then another four weeks have passed, and now I find myself digging through some unfinished drafts, when I stumbled upon this one. Not only did I forget to finish writing the review, but I almost shared this too late for you to enter the contest to win a copy of the CD!

When I say almost too late, I really mean it — the contest ends tomorrow (Friday, 29 June), so keep on reading, but then hurry up and hit the link near the end of this post, for your chance to win!!

 

 
One of the most common things I’ve seen mentioned, in other places where I’ve read about this album or this band, is a similarity in style to Tool.

To an extent, I’d agree with that — and in the Facebook bio, The Reticent do include Tool among a list of influences. After all, Hathcock’s singing style frequently resembles Maynard‘s, especially in some of the more plaintive, emotional songs such as “Lie to Me” or “Le Tenia” — although this quieter, more heartfelt vocal delivery is found far more commonly in A Perfect Circle‘s catalog than in that singer’s main band.

Granted, some of the heavier moments on this album also elicit a comparison to Mr. Keenan, such as the elongated yelling/singing thing, which Hathcock emulates to a T in “Enemy.” That song, too, has bits which remind me of Tool’s music, such as some of the runs with the bass and guitar intertwining riff patterns. But that’s really where the comparison ends.

Unless you include the outro to “In Pursuit of Redemption” where, for the last minute or so, everything slows down and quiets down to near-nothingness, with the singer intoning half-whispered words along with a simple, mournful guitar line — very similar to the ending of “Wings for Marie (Part 1)” from 10,000 Days.

Okay, what the hell, there are plenty of spots all over the album that are reminiscent of either Tool or APC. But since when is that a bad thing? Besides, there are some other comparisons to be found here: for example, parts of “Enemy” sound less like either of Keenan’s bands, recalling instead………. the version of “You Lied” (originally by Tool bassist Justin Chancellor‘s old band Peach) that Tool had performed live (as documented on the CD in the Salival box set).

Ironically, the song called “Silence” is probably the loudest one here — in addition to the melodic, emotive clean singing found elsewhere, this song introduces what might almost be considered a monstrous death-growl in parts, on top of aggressive double-kick drumming and heavily distorted chugging guitar chords. Even still, much of the song — especially the ending — is full of introspection and mournfulness, like all the others, heavy or soft alike.

A number of the songs here either entirely, or mostly, feature an acoustic guitar, giving an additional layer of warmth and fragility to that already present in the lyrics and the sound of the vocals. Taking an additional step in this direction are the album’s two bonus tracks: the a cappella “With Folded Arms,” and lastly, a stripped-down rendition of R.E.M.‘s “Losing My Religion.” Reduced to a single electric guitar (with occasional counterpoint added by a second guitar) and Hathcock’s voice (sometimes harmonized with itself), this version comes across as even more subdued and inwardly-focused than the original was (if you can even believe that’s possible).

 
You can hear several of the songs (about half of them) from Le Temps Detruit Tout on The Reticent’s Reverbnation page, in addition to a few other songs (one of which is available for you to download for free).

 
————————————-
As promised, here are the details on how you can win a free copy of this excellent CD! But hurry, because like I said, the contest ends on Friday (29 June)!
 

Blistering.com and Heaven and Hell Records are giving away copies of The Reticent’s new Le Temps Detruit Tout album to three (3) lucky winners.

As described on this very site, Le Temps Detruit Tout is a blissful excursion into progressive metal territory ala Opeth and Tool, albeit with hooks galore and savory clean vocals of mainman Chris Hathcock.

To get your hands on one of the year’s most underrated albums, enter before Friday, June 29.

 
Click here for the entry form.

 
If you don’t win, or if you don’t happen to see this contest after the deadline, you can still get your hands on the album – it’s available from Sounds of Purgatory Distribution here, or The Reticent’s webstore here.

 
And one last thing, in case you haven’t seen it before, Heaven and Hell Records have a free sampler full of their artists’ songs, including “The Enemy” (from this album) — see full details and grab your free copy here.

 
————————————-
The Reticent: Facebook, Reverbnation
Heaven and Hell Records: website, Facebook
Blistering.com: website, Facebook