Univers Zero - Heresie (1979)

 Having thought the debut album was unsurpassable the boy's go one better on this one. Denis's 'La Faulx' is a slow builder, the textures at the beginning are rich with wheezing bass Harmonium and Michel Berckmans Bassoon whilst Bassist Guy Segers incants in the background. Tracks 2 & 3 are the work of Roger Trigaux, later to produce a solo album called 'Triskadecaphobie' under the band name of Present. Entitled 'Jack the Ripper' & 'Vous le Saurez en Temps Voulu' once again Roger and the band excel themselves. Play it in the dark if you dare!

The music is incredible dark,sombre,as depressive as can be.Pessimism to the max!If someone informated me well than I believe that the texts are spoken in the languages of druids.Together with the slow creeping cello's and bassoon it createds an incredible anguished atmosphere.

Some people overemphasize the scary boogeyman nature of Univers Zero (usually to promote their virtues), I think, but certainly their music is quite moody and dark, and this is likely their darkest sounding record. All the pieces are slow and ponderous, with sustained, repetitive lines and harmonies that are often "dissonant" to traditionalist ears. Certainly you can hear the influence of interesting European composers like Bartok and Messiaen, as well as, if not Zeuhl, the same sort of avant-jazz sources as Magma was tapping. Reeds and strings are the lead instruments, making this more of a jazz/chamber fusion than anything to do with rock music in the usual sense. The kind of music that would be good scoring a old silent horror movie, this is definitely a classic of its genre- I have to be in the mood for it, but it fits that mood perfectly.Reviews from Progarchives.com

Songs / Tracks Listing

 1. La Faulx (25:18)
2. Jack the Ripper (13:29)
3. Vous le Saurez en Temps Voulu (12:56)
4. Chaos Hermetique (11:51) *


Line-up / Musicians Lineup on the original album:

- Michel Berckmans / bassoon, oboe
- Daniel Denis / drums, percussion
- Patrick Hanappier / viola, violin
- Roger Trigaux / guitar, piano, organ, harmonium
- Guy Segers / bass, voice

Lineup on the bonus track on the 2010 remaster:
- Daniel Denis / drums
- Patrick Hanappier / violin
- Guy Segers / bass
- Roger Trigaux / guitar
- Vincent Motoulle / keyboards