We already know that French black metal bands hold convention in low regard. But these days, if it’s French, it must not only be good, but pushing so many boundaries it’s halfway to the Baltics. At least that’s pretty much the common conception and that sets the bar fairly high for new outfits. But, with a casual cock of the head and. I imagine, with a Galois placed easily between the lips, Antagoniste does its level best to contribute to the growing Gallic legend. The Myth of Man is a mixture of sludgy black metal hauling in various other influences and with a mind-bending perspective that erodes reality at the edges if never quite jettisoning us into another dimension altogether. For the first few tracks things go pretty quickly off on a tangent and into a swirling mind of psychedelic madness but with a solid delivery of almost Bolt Thrower levels of steady, rolling riffing to provide the bedrock, as on second track The Barren Lands.
The vocals are nicely layered to add to the mild insanity. The obvious black metal leanings, such as on The Demiurge, are constantly challenged with progressive tendencies, blackened soundscapes and shoegaze-style drifting guitars – all done with skilled, mesmerising and unhurried manner on The Ritual which provides a standout centrepiece to the album. At times, particularly early on, The Myth of Man almost ventures off into pure noise relying more on captivating and atmospheric arrangements than it does on brandishing clever or complicated riffs and hooks.
To be honest, anyone familiar with the output of I, Voidhanger is probably not going to go far wrong with this. There are fringe elements which I can hear from bands like Howls Of Ebb on The Nihilist and other elements of the purer blackened shoegaze of a band like Mare Cognitium on others like The Black Sun. It’s a nice addition to the catalogue with the accent on the heavy, hypnotic, buzzing bass lines, discordant, repetitive riffs and strung-out keyboards. The Myth of Mankind does a fair job at being interesting and both bleak and hypnotically wonderful all at the same time even if the promise of the first few tracks is never quite delivered upon. There are some excellent moments such as the aforementioned The Ritual, which could easily be the soundtrack to a new director’s cut of Blade Runner or more likely something even more dystopian, and the winding psychosis of following track The Nihilist. But there are low points for me, like the title track itself, which felt like the most pure black metal outing on offer but also one of the least impressive tracks.
Then the album, perhaps pointedly, given the subject matter, seems to run out of a bit of steam towards the end and the final slog seems to take the foot of the intensity pedal a bit too much even if there is a final flurry. The closing 10 minute track more or less seems to drift off into space – a bit like the dust to which we will, in the end, inevitably dissipate into the universe. But that doesn’t stop this being an interesting album even if The Myth of Mankind doesn’t quite drop like an incendiary.
(7/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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