Fantasia

Description

To be honest, every album by the French trio SLIFT, both radiant and powerful, has been a true fantasy: a blend of genres and forms allowing the band to improvise, developing themes until they seem to intertwine in space. Their third album, Ilion (2024), critically acclaimed, was a science fiction narrative built from exploratory escapades lasting 10 to 13 minutes, often starting with doom metal or stoner rock before fading freely into a glorious instrumental void. In a fitting irony, SLIFT's fourth album is titled Fantasia, and it is their most stripped-down and direct record to date. It is also their most captivating album, a poignant saga about overcoming international upheavals, delivered by a determined band that doesn't waste a single second. Although only Jean and bassist Rémi Fossat are related, SLIFT is primarily a band of brothers. They have been friends with drummer Canek Flores since high school, and 2026 marks a decade spent together as this trio. They rehearse with near-religious regularity in a basement in the countryside near Toulouse, in the rehearsal space where they have long indulged their taste for endless compositions. This time, they constructed the tracks of Fantasia differently. Jean started several songs alone, then quickly brought them to rehearsal in the basement with a clear and precise idea of how he envisioned their evolution. By the time they arrived at Daft Studios, they already had a set of concise, agile, and impactful tracks. The band's varied influences are evident: the album evokes Clutch in a frenzy, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, Pink Floyd, and Black Sabbath from the Master of Reality era. This rich sound is enhanced by the skillful mixing of Kurt Ballou (Converge, Cave In, High on Fire). The tracks are not lacking in the complexity or intensity that have made SLIFT a rising star in heavy metal; they have simply found new ways to integrate the complexities of their past into each title, like a tapestry that reveals a new layer with each glance. In doing so, they deliver a strong and urgent message: together, we can still change the world we live in. It is terribly easy these days to feel powerless. With Fantasia, SLIFT confronts the modern tide of cruelty and absurdity head-on, whether it is the indifference towards our planet or towards others. But these eight songs speak of trusting in an inner strength that allows us to fight back, to believe in a world where something we cannot yet express or define offers not only the possibility of disrupting the established order but perhaps also of completely destroying it. SLIFT is powerful,