Cheval De Frise
Cheval De Frise
A "cheval de frise" is a military defensive structure. It is the alias under which Thomas Bonvalet and Vincent Beysselance formed their duo, creating anxious, agitated music with perpetually changing, almost baroque, patterns. Urgent, emotional and paradoxically structured and thought out in the finest detail, it drew much of its influences from the many forms of '90s American post-hardcore, while being undeniably singular. The formation was instrumental and the bass was abandoned for an amplified classical guitar, giving them their signature sound. In a French musical landscape where rock and guitar music did not thrill much anymore, Cheval De Frise came as a surprise. After a few demos, the band released their first eponymous album in 2000 on Sonore, a label based in Bordeaux.