SORTILÈGE (Heavy Metal - France) - Their EP "Sortilège" to be Reissued via High Roller Records on November 17, 2023 #Sortilege

SORTILÈGE (Heavy Metal – France) – Their EP “Sortilège” to be Reissued via High Roller Records on November 17, 2023 #Sortilege

OVERVIEW
SORTILÈGE – “Sortilège” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 17.11.2023
Format: LP / CD
Distribution: Soulfood

When French heavy metal band SORTILÈGE formed in 1981, they were following the example of their fellow countrymen Trust. Musically however, the band from the suburbs of Paris took their musical approach one step further, forging an amalgam of true heavy metal without being influenced by punk rock (like the early Trust), blues rock (Ganafoul) or progressive rock (Océan). “Yes, absolutely,” confirms guitarist and founding member Didier Demajean today, “our influences were mainly hard rock bands, the ones we were covering at the time with Blood Wave.” Blood Wave were the forerunners of SORTILÈGE, playing songs by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rainbow, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Kiss, and of course Trust.
According to Didier Demajean, apart from pioneers Trust and SORTILÈGE, France had a whole lot of new and interesting metal bands in the early eighties: “I remember groups like H-Bomb, Satan Jokers, ADX, Vulcain, Blasphème, Warning, Demon Eyes etc. There really was a craze, we had a huge desire to express ourselves. It was a very creative period for French hard rock.”
Apart from Didier Demajean on guitar, the first stable line-up of SORTILÈGE consisted of Christian Augustin (“Zouille”) on vocals, Daniel Lapp on bass Jean-Philippe Dumont, aka Bob Snake, behind the drum kit and Stéphane Dumont on second guitar.
When it was time to search for a label, however, the band had to look outside their home country, as Didier expresses today: “At the time, no French label wanted to sign us. Our manager got in touch with a number of international labels and we chose the Dutch Rave-On Records label, which offered us the best conditions for our first EP.”
The mentioned self-titled EP was issued in 1983 and consisted of five original compositions: “Amazone”, “Progéniture Destructrice”, Gladiateur”, “Sortilège” and “Bourreau”. “We were young musicians, without much experience, but we had the desire and the energy of our youth, all that is felt in the album,” sums up Didier today. “The songs are raw, the sound is direct, and the alchemy between Stéphane’s compositions and Christian’s melodies and lyrics have touched the hearts of teenagers of our generation. The vocals, the riffs, the solos and the way of playing on this EP, have anchored our musical identity in the public mind.”
The High Roller edition of »Sortilège« also contains five bonus tracks: “Esclave De La Mort” and “Reine De Sabbat” from the 1981 demo, as well as English versions of three original tracks off the EP (“The Amazon Warriors”, “Gladiator” and “Blade Killer”).

All tracks mastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in September 2022.

HRR 907CD, slipcase, poster, 24 page booklet

HRR 907LP, ltd 1000, 300 x black, 300 x magenta, 200 x magenta/ white splatter + 200 x “DRAPEAU TRICOLORE” vinyl (HRR mail order exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover w/ 5mm spine, 8 page booklet, A4 insert, A5 photo card, poster