The Dead Years

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know that this was a re-recording of Mourning Dawn’s debut album when I first listened to it, but as it was also my first taste of the French black/doom group’s sound I suppose that point could hardly make much difference. In terms of alterations, a few tracks have been substituted out and in (‘…As the Ocean’ and ‘Interlude’ appeared on Mourning Dawn whereas ‘Trees’ and ‘Lights’ are new to The Dead Years), plus the running order and even song lengths have been slightly rearranged, meaning that any prior fans might still want a look over the new version. For my part, I hear some well-produced, depthy, and emotive black metal with some other elements thrown in.

Although I was prepared for doomy parts, even the majority of the longest songs stick mostly to typical black metal playing styles, gnashing and wailing over torrential guitars and drums during ‘From the Torrent and the Fountain’, which epitomizes how Mourning Dawn take on the heavier parts of the release - in a deluge of sound and emotion. Admittedly, the riffing isn’t all that fast at the intense moments, blastbeats being used rarely, but other passages of ‘When the Sky Seems to Be a Flag’ build up a kind of exhausted exhilaration, as desperate melodies are tormented by ragged shrieks. The themes remain ambiguous, though the mood definitely turns black. By contrast, a song such as ‘Lights’ comes much closer to my idea of melodic doom, texturing airy guitars with some acoustics to turn the atmosphere into a cloudy, chilly day among the trees. Notably, that cut has no lyrics, as with the 4 minute track ‘Intro’, making The Dead Years occasionally quite spacious and relaxed, even if a grimmer, almost industrial harshness comes into play at other moments, both during full-on and slower moments.

However, for a three-piece line-up that includes one Laurent “Pokemonslaughter”, I wouldn’t expect totally serious output all the time. Although The Dead Years never grasps for a joke to match that pseudonym, the breakdown in ‘When the Sky…’ oddly introduces very French music, as if at a tavern in old Paris, which stands out completely in an otherwise bleak 66 minutes. In terms of mood, the release changes several times, not focusing on such negativity as comparable outfits like Ataraxie, Forgotten Tomb, and Shining, while the genres blend almost seamlessly too into a grand sweep of drifting forlornness, vicious struggling, and occasional hope. I can’t keep my attention entirely focused all the way through Mourning Dawn’s long formulas, yet The Dead Years seems like a good place to wander and be lost if you so desire.