Herzel - Le Dernier Rempart - CD

Epic, unique prog metal from the Brittany region of France! On their long-awaited debut album, Le Dernier Rempart, French epic metallers Herzel not only champion vocals that are sung in their native tongue but they unleash a concept born straight from their native region of Brittany! The Breton language is commonly used in the Brittany region of France. While in decline since the 1950s, Breton still holds sway in Brittany, which is where emerging French epic metallers Herzel hail. Their name is Breton for “resisting,” “braving,” “holding on,” “stopping” and preventing.” The word possessed so much power for the band that they had but no choice to adopt it as their name in 2013. Fast-forward seven years and the band has brought their name to life in the form of their debut studio album, Le Dernier Rempart, a concept album about a character named Herzel. Influenced by U.S. metal stalwarts Manilla Road, Warlord, Queensryche, Heir Apparent, Omen and Virgin Steele, as well as Celtic and French traditional music, Herzel was formed by Thomas Guillesser, who was then joined by drummer Ion Philippon, guitarist Kévin Le Vern and bassist Mordiern Le Dissez. Second guitarist Gurvan Lardeux was the last piece to the puzzle, and shortly thereafter, Herzel got to work on its debut demo, Unis dans la gloire, which was released in 2015.