Honestly, the sound is quite refreshing. It�s cheerful in a strange way. Kind of like Satan hosting a fun afternoon puppet show for the kids. But this is only really entertaining for about three or four songs. When that marker is hit, you are used to the combination and the eyebrows can be lowered again. A pity, Le Grand Guignol sounds like they bring a great deal of originality, but when dug a little deeper the music isn�t all that new. The dominant sauce of Grotesque ancient sounds cannot conceal this, and soon get quite on one�s nerves.

 

Another downer is the seemingly wrong decision to record songs that last too long. The six or eight minute box will be ticked quite a lot whilst listening to The Great Maddening. That�s fine if the songs try and go somewhere, but I hardly get the feeling they do here. More so this feels like a collection of parts of songs that are glued together, stretched over a long playing time.

 

Le Grand Guignol has great potential, that�s for sure. Just ask yourself if you dig very long compositions of very attentive and dominant grotesque influences before purchasing. Or just listen to it on MySpace.

 

Not my cup of tea in the end, although I'm sure there's tons of people who'll enjoy this.