Review Summary: The unconscious torpor buried deep within our DNA
How to start a decade on the right foot? Ten years ago,
Deathspell Omega,
Alcest,
Murmuüre and
Kvelertak quarried new stones to make the great citadel of black metal even more majestic than it already was. Coincidentally, three of the aforementioned bands are French acts, highlighting the country’s flair for less “mainstream” sounds. Could it be that yet another band from France will disregard the established conventions and turn the scene upside down like its forebears did? Upon first listens,
Mourir does not revolutionize the genre as they are still too reliant on the past to truly shake the habitual, but they manage to carefully pick specific elements from each of their predecessors to come up with their own sound.
Although laying their foundations on the second Scandinavian wave, the recent French discordant wave as well as last decade's atmospheric trend, none of the band’s influences take over. They instead prefer to build their own dungeon of noise, the album being the representation of the beast defending Hell's Gates.
Waving the fatality of their nihilism as the banner for all rage and lethality,
Mourir throws a frightening din that allows them to demonstrate their philosophy through sound. The sounds of hell are evoked both lyrically and sonically, and yet, one gets the impression that these humans are shouting at a world which they are ill-suited for, with Hell only being the metaphor of their discomfort.
The lyrics, although abstract, refer to a deep disgust of the human race and call for the imagery of Hell to pour out a total pessimism. The more we live, the more obscure the existence on this dismal planet seems. “Slowly comes our death, which only precedes fall and torment”. The group animate this declaration: they call the demonic hordes in all their dissonance, abrasion and chaos through the instruments, and emanate bile and hate through the singer’s wicked shout.
Savagery, in the literal sense of the term (i.e. "lack of the restraints normal to civilized human beings'') is rather common in the milieu. Despite this familiar soundscape, the listener has to deal with the record’s surprising rhythm that achieves to become more prominent. With detail after detail, this peculiar cadence has the effect of rather faithfully transcribing the animal pulse both wild and filthy, the instrumental track “La Gueule Ouverte” being a prime example.
Animal Bouffe Animal' six tracks oscillate between nervous and sudden, impactful moments, yet are also sneaky and as heavy as the foreboding sense of imminent danger. The voices whisper, grunt and vociferate while expressing the entire animosity of the human species in all its tonal palette. Accompanied in its deranged run by the drums and their sometimes roaring, sometimes bridled rhythms, the two complement each other perfectly to probe the unfathomable: the animal we really are. The guitars are as distant as the trumpets of Revelation, but sometimes manage to get the upper hand, leaving a drone of clamor behind them. These six-strings immediately pound on the opening track, yet the spotlight is left to the drums and the vocals. All these musical attacks are distinctive from each other thanks to the production, which manages to bring roughness without being cacophonous.
However, this newbuilt French fortress is not impregnable. The wall of sound erected here is quite monochrome, and despite
Mourir’s attempt for innovation within their style, the band does not raise the most original of structures, or even the most extreme one. One can be reminded of both the dissonance of Deathspell Omega as well as riffs Norwegians already made in the 90s. These influences, although legitimate, sometimes tend to take precedence over the bestial nihilism the band wants to present. The Frenchmen are at they best when rage prevail over dissonance or tremolos.
Animal Bouffe Animal is thus classical in its substance as it does not stray from the trodden paths, yet shows an unrelenting will to rage its nihilistic message. And, even more fascinatingly, it works. While metal fans are insatiable consumers of a codified genre, they can still get some kicks out of it. Every established genre moves forward at a slow pace, and each new step should be welcomed. The new step is
Mourir’s, who, while still looking for ways to take their inspiration to more infernal depths, have already loudly proclaimed their rage.
