Having previously plucked bass for French sludge outfit Overmars throughout the noughties, Marion Leclercq brings us the sophomore full-length from her solo project, a full five years after the well-received debut.
Opener “The Descent” is driven mostly by oppressive doomy percussion and savagely delivered vocals, relying on heavy use of synth to build the ambient industrial noisescape which sets the scene for the remaining five tracks. “A Mass For It” follows, an eerie four-minute electronic soundscape swollen with ethereal choral atmospherics, before “Mother Of Wrath” returns us to hypnotic industrial black metal vibes, not too dissimilar to a minimalist version of fellow countrymen Deathspell Omega, or the highbrow electronic melody of Blut Aus Nords “Cosmosophy”. Again, this is a track driven primarily by reverb-laden percussion, punctuated by depressive vocals.
“Violence And Misery” builds up tension with a disembodied electronic voice periodically cutting through the eerie, dismal ambient sonic backdrop, before ritualistic percussion brings a sense of order and rhythm to the track. Despairing vocals threaten catharsis, though ultimately never deliver true violence, settling for an industrial post-metal screams. “A Mess To Me” is a short cinematic soundscape, paving the way for 12 minute closer “Requiem”, a swirling mass of hypnotising percussion, synth and melodic guitar building to a grand, depressive yet hopeful crescendo.
“Bring Down The Flags” is a display of stripped-down avantgarde experimentation that eschews the showboating pretentiousness that some musicians get bogged down in. A hypnotic genre-transcending blend of industrial, noise, doom and post black metal, it’s certainly worthy of investigation if you’re after something sonically thought-provoking to ring in the new year.
(7.5/10 Doogz)
Leave a Reply