Black Absinthe’s rip from the headlines story, albeit a headline from 1905, looks at the influence of The Green Fairy and her counterparts, alcohol, through the gripping song, “Jean Lanfray” from their upcoming album On Earth or In Hell out on March 27th.
On the song, the band says,
“When exploring concepts and stories relating to Absinthe, we came across the story of Jean Lanfray; who, after a day of excessive drinking, murdered his wife and children. Despite consuming a variety of liquors, it was his consumption of Absinthe that scandalized the public. The murders and subsequent trial kicked off a temperance movement that would see the sale and production of Absinthe banned in most European countries. The band uses the story to depict the denial ever present in an alcoholic mind. ‘Jean Lanfray’ works to depict a narrator pathetically denying the reality he has caused and showing the depraved actions a man can take when gripped with alcohol addiction.”
Part metal and part doom vibe, “Jean Lanfray” is a heavy and honest look at alcohol addiction. Through vocals that remind me of early Metallica, grungy bass and guitars, and doom laden drums, the song is an unapologetic look at the harsh realities of alcohol addiction. Black Absinthe is using the horrors of what Jean did as shock value, but as a raw and historic reminder of what can happen when those who don’t think they have a problem hide behind the lies they not only tell others, but themselves too.
