Band: BA'A / VERFALLEN / HYRGAL
Country: France
Title: Split
Label: Les Acteurs de l'Ombre
Year: 2018
Style: Black Metal

Review:
LADLO Productions keeps discovering and offering us new French Black Metal blood and with this split we get two debut releases, Ba'a and Verfallen, and another that can count as debut only in regards to LADLO as the band, Hyrgal that is, already released it's debut album in 2017 on Naturmacht Productions from Germany. 
Opening the hostilities here are (or is) Ba'a, a mysterious Franch project without a personal identity, or better said without its members being public, os it could be a full line-up band or a one man operation, and I strongly believe it's the second. Blasting, oppressive, dense and atmospheric Black Metal, 2 tracks clocking around 14 minutes, a very expressive and catchy music that surprises through the upfront bass lines and complex, story-telling guiatr work. The vocals are a mix between growls and screams, but all quite comprehensive, especially if you know French. Impressive debut.
Verfallen is next, a one man band with a few special guests like Deha from Slow, Imber Luminis or We All Die Laughing, who also seems to have mixed and mastered the whole thing on this split CD leading your thoughts to guess he's also behing Ba'a... Verfallen is somehow on the same path like Ba'a, but more aggressive, heavier and borrowing some influences from the Death Metal atmosphere and at the same time inseting some dreamy, semi-acoustic passages to tone things down at some point. 2 tracks, a bit over 20 minutes, another fantastic debut.
Hyrgal is a full line-up band, a trio, and they present 2 tracks clocking almost 20 minutes here. The first one is quite slow, doomy and repetitive from start to finish, I have to admit it's not my fave thing on this split, but the second track speeds things up and reveal a ravaging band, very brutal and at the same time technical and atmospheric, with excellent druming, ferocious vocals, and a murky, dense atmosphere. Dirtier sounding than the 2 previous bands, Hyrgal sounds more fit for live shows and that makes perfect sense since they are probably a live band also.
As a conclusion probably Verfallen is my fave inhere, but all three bands are offering an excellent experience for fans of Atmospheric Black Metal, 53 minutes well worth your attention.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10  9/10  7.5/10

Contact:
facebook.com/VerfallenFR
facebook.com/Hyrgal
lesacteursdelombre.net