This band from France promises us a dreamlike journey, and in doing so spans extremes of sound. The quoted musical points of reference here are Alcest, Sylvaine, Cult of Luna, Amenra and Darkher. “Les Dires de l’Âme” (The Words of the Soul) follows an ep released in 2022.
Haunting mists arise. The angelic purity of voice along with the calmness of the acoustic guitar creates a mystical soundscape. Such is “L’Appel” (The Call). By contrast “Catalepsie” builds up as if coming from a distance and hits us with the growls and musical harshness of black metal. It couldn’t be more different. The drifting voice of the lady from “L’Appel” momentarily puts calm into proceedings but after a discomforting break, an explosion occurs and fiery black metal lands upon us. The lady continues undeterred. The two are so polarised that it sounds strange, to me anyway. “Dialecte Onirique” starts slowly with the menace and tone of black metal. Again light and dark, or rather angelic and black, are mixed. I found it better when the two styles operate together rather than alternately as on “Catalepsie”. The undercurrent is black, pure and simple, while the growler’s screams are those of someone expressing pain and suffering, none of which explains the lady’s hymnal tones. I imagined that the song “Silhouette” might be shadowy and I suppose the lady’s dulcet tones are, but predominantly this is harsh, angst-driven black metal. As duets go, it’s a strange and polar combination. Prolonged, anguish roars and drawn- out guitar passages dominate the scene before explosively the drum beat quickens and the fire intensifies. Dark wins out over light on this occasion. “Silhouette” is loud, proud, despairing and impressive.
A more tranquil song follows. “Adoubée des Étoiles” has the ringing rhythm of “Losing my Religion” and invites controlled heaviness in but most memorable is the lady’s misty chant which has an exotic Middle Eastern aroma about it. The title song then takes us back to blackness and suffering. This is what I like: a rich simultaneous mix of the ethereal vocals and the harshness. They don’t compete with other which they seem to do when separated, and we finish up with a luxurious feast of sounds. “Une Lame Éprise” errs towards violence. It can’t be denied that the atmosphere is intense and fearful. As “Adoubée des Étoiles”, the wispy side is overshadowed. Silhouette have a job on their hands not to drown the light-angelic in the dark-black. It’s pointless if they do. I don’t think they always have their balance right. Surely it’s not a good idea to make it sound like a battle between two styles. Maybe Silhouette think it is. Let’s move on to “Litainie Contre la Peur” (Litany Against Fear). It’s another of those yin and yang tracks. “Dysrhythmie” starts in harsh folk style and is then taken over by a volley of ferocity. The patterns are becoming familiar. The song ends anonymously with the folksy rhythm, giving over to the final sombre piece “L’Éveil” (The Awakening). Like a funeral march, the lady sings hauntingly. I was on my guard for it to explode into black metal but this never happened, and the song has all the more power and quality as a result
I can’t give unreserved praise to the band for this album, as whilst the venom and intensity of the black metal on the one hand and the haunting misty tones on the other are both impressive in their own right, and especially so when brought together, I don’t think Silhouette get the balance right all the time. So while I revelled in some parts of Les Dires de l’Âme, I found other parts of it frustrating to listen to as the styles were too much in conflict with each other.
(6/10 Andrew Doherty)
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