Since the turn of the century, Ataraxie have been exploring the depths of the doom meets death metal sound. Taking inspiration from the slowest of paces and the heaviest of tones carved out in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, “Le Déclin” is the band’s sixth full length release. The scope is epic: an 81 minute, four track opus that builds on their already considerable reputation. Themes covering manipulation of the masses and the ugliness of the modern human condition abound.
Title track “Le Déclin” comes to life; moody and melancholy but with a resigned, almost odd soothing aura. Hushed, spoken word vocals in French appear and build to a desperate wail. When the heavy riff arrives it is dense under deeply growled vocals. The shadow of Cathedral’s “Forest Of Equilibrium” is present in the heavy, funereal pace that verges on the suffocating. Dry, claustrophobic and dense in its’ atmosphere, the production nevertheless feels expansive and fully immersive. The track builds to an almost ritualistic soundscape before the dissonant opening chords of “Vomisseurs De Vide”. Crushing and bleak, the guitars lean on the edge of feedback before pulling back into gentler tones which is sudden and hauntingly effective. The throaty vocals give way to soothing spoken words before a descent into hellish death metal stylings. Frenetic drumming and churning riffs create a maelstrom of aural torment which proves to be psychologically thrilling. An emotional push-me-pull-you torrent again brings Cathedral-esque doom into the mix. Jonathan Théry’s vocal performance is enveloping, chilling and engaging in equal measure. Stabbed with desperate cries, this is at times gut-wrenchingly raw. There is no individual performance centrepiece – this feels like a band as a singular, unstoppable force.
The album’s second half commences with the dryness of “Glory Of Ignominy”. Pierre Sénécal’s drumming is steadying with a militaristic slant. With more of a traditional doom metal structure, it is highly emotive creating a sense of desperate tension constantly seeking release. Structurally, the track moves in a similar pattern to those previous where the darkness is soothed by calming, reflective moments of shade. When the band cut loose, it is a propulsive and heart-poundingly heavy slippery-slide reminiscent of Evoken. Building to an expansive and breathtakingly dark coda, the scene is set for closing track “The Collapse”. The crushing opening riff is next level heavy. Sparse, grim and full of finality and doom, the three guitar attack is in full force. For these ears, this track is the album highlight. The bleak atmosphere is palpable and feels inescapable. The percussion is marshalling in its’ effect; full of snap and command as the vocals deliver the solemn sermon. There is little variation in song structure across the four tracks which adds cohesion but does lend itself to some predictability. The brief increase in pace on this piece is powerful and a significant marker on the album mood as a whole. A beautifully constructed finale, it almost feels like an album within an album.
“Le Déclin” is no easy listen nor is it a cherry pick album. Ataraxie have crafted a work that demands an investment of time, musical consideration and emotional immersion that will reward those who jump on board for the journey. One moment soul baringly raw, at other times disturbingly dark and unforgiving, it doesn’t have the sparseness of an album from a band like Disembowelment, but rather a fog-like aura that is enveloping and sets Ataraxie apart from others in the genre. This is an album worth taking the time to explore.
(7/10 Johnny Zed)
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