Roel F.: Belenos, a French band that from 2004 on has revolved around one man, Loïc Cellier, but that has started back in 1995, can boost a solid discography. Even the demo's that were quite enjoyable revealed, however rather marred by a not so good production, a band that was original without coming across as avant garde. The sound of Belenos today still displays the same melodic, pagan/Gallic nature and is varied as well.
'Errances Oniriques' is by no means a new album: rather, it is a reissue of the long sold-out debut from 2000. Reason behind this, according to Northern Silence Productions, was nothing more than popular demand; in the case of this particular band that is all the reason needed. Cellier has taken the opportunity to re-record the whole damn affair with himself taking control of everything from handling all instruments to mixing and mastering. The result is, how else could it be with such a good original template, really good. The driving interaction between percussion and melodies, the clean vocals and the tempo and mood changes are still as relevant and exciting today as they were almost 10 years ago, maybe even more so in this day and age of boring black metal. Obviously, Cellier has not diverged from the original. The sound is fuller, as was expected. Another change, besides the new artwork, is, oddly, that the sequence of two songs has been changed in relation to that of the original. Lastly, two exclusive bonus tracks have been added. More arguments to buy 'Errances Oriniques' will not add anything more at this point.
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