post metal / black metal
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From the seering hot desert to the icy cold landscapes of Siberia, for Merchants Of Air writers that could be just a small step, simply depending on the album we're trying to review. Perhaps we're a bit oversensitive to the atmosphere in some of these albums but the difference between this one and the album I reviewed before is huge. That one was sunlit, this one is dark and loaded with despair, angst and insanity.
L’Homme Absurde, a post-black metal band from Russia, was founded in 2015 as one-man band of A., who is known for being the drummer in most known Russian doom metal bands (Mare Infinitum, Who Dies In Siberian Slush, Comatose Vigil) and as the mastermind behind doom/downtempo band A Young Man’s Funeral. In 2016, other members (including Mare Infinitum guitarist Georgiy Bykov) joined in to record a first, self-titled demo and this full-length.
But this ain't no doom metal, far from it. In fact, where most post black metal bands tend to use slower passages, reminiscent of doom, L'Homme Absurde mostly maintains a fierce tempo. Some of the blast beats on this album are simply out-of-this-world and almost inhuman. To top that off, the rest of the music consists of layers of blackened riffage and haunting screams. I know, that doesn't sound very entertaining to most people, but it certainly is immersive.
This is the kind of music you want to play extremely loud while screaming out your inner demons, your fears, your frustrations while the constant drilling of the blast beats mangles you into a bloody pulp. I have no favorite song on this album as pretty much all of it reminds me of the most intense and insane pieces of black metal I've ever heard. I'm talking about acts like Limbonic Art meeting the newer scene with Altar Of Plagues and Wolves In The Throne Room.
Yet, apart from all the sheer brutality, there are some passages that prove just how talented and techically skilled this band really is. The post rock passage at the end of 'Disillusion' and the jazzy intro to 'Wanderer' are nice pieces of music, bringing a decent dose of variation to the whole thing. Besides, the latter has a Primordial-feeling to it, which is always a good thing. Black metal fans can't go wrong with this one, that's a fact.
Serge
L’Homme Absurde, a post-black metal band from Russia, was founded in 2015 as one-man band of A., who is known for being the drummer in most known Russian doom metal bands (Mare Infinitum, Who Dies In Siberian Slush, Comatose Vigil) and as the mastermind behind doom/downtempo band A Young Man’s Funeral. In 2016, other members (including Mare Infinitum guitarist Georgiy Bykov) joined in to record a first, self-titled demo and this full-length.
But this ain't no doom metal, far from it. In fact, where most post black metal bands tend to use slower passages, reminiscent of doom, L'Homme Absurde mostly maintains a fierce tempo. Some of the blast beats on this album are simply out-of-this-world and almost inhuman. To top that off, the rest of the music consists of layers of blackened riffage and haunting screams. I know, that doesn't sound very entertaining to most people, but it certainly is immersive.
This is the kind of music you want to play extremely loud while screaming out your inner demons, your fears, your frustrations while the constant drilling of the blast beats mangles you into a bloody pulp. I have no favorite song on this album as pretty much all of it reminds me of the most intense and insane pieces of black metal I've ever heard. I'm talking about acts like Limbonic Art meeting the newer scene with Altar Of Plagues and Wolves In The Throne Room.
Yet, apart from all the sheer brutality, there are some passages that prove just how talented and techically skilled this band really is. The post rock passage at the end of 'Disillusion' and the jazzy intro to 'Wanderer' are nice pieces of music, bringing a decent dose of variation to the whole thing. Besides, the latter has a Primordial-feeling to it, which is always a good thing. Black metal fans can't go wrong with this one, that's a fact.
Serge
