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Neige et Noirceur > Solstice hivernal > Reviews
Neige et Noirceur - Solstice hivernal

A dark meditation on isolation and madness - 77%

NausikaDalazBlindaz, November 13th, 2015

A short EP this may be but what a darkly beautiful and expansive soundscape we are treated to here. A calm, almost too calm and composed introduction of dreamy synth tone lulls the senses into serenity and security - but here be one instance where serenity and security are cruel harbingers of sinister malevolence and dread. Before we know it, we are thrown into a cold grinding machine of near-industrial BM riffing, muffled percussion and seething reptilian vocals, all edged with coldly hostile space ambient tone. The relentless repetition and steady pace grind down hard and give the impression of a huge implacable mechanical monster animated by some uber-demon that, even by the standards of Hell, rarely ventures into the cold nights above its subterranean abode.

As the EP progresses, the programmed beats become faster and more deranged, the guitars are near-hysterical, a spidery lead guitar solo goes manic, and it becomes obvious that this creature, wandering in the dark wintry landscapes above ground, carries its own burden of madness. Halfway through the recording, the clouds of madness recede and we get a clear view of the night sky and something of the nature of the madness that affects the demon wanderer. When the music starts up again, it becomes a rather stodgy synth-dominated slug ploughing through the thick snow until saved by frizzly guitar sizzle and throbbing drums that turn into slavering blackened death metal rumble. Madness propels the track to greater intensity and speed, the voices are increasingly excitable and all the instruments are zooming towards a truly demented infinity.

Apart from that moment of near-kitsch stodge just after the middle of the track, this is a truly epic mini-soundtrack of gleaming cold winter ambience, militaristic blackened death metal mixed with industrial beats and the most sinister voices and space ambient effects. On another level, this EP could also be a study in alienation and the madness that comes with extreme isolation in a universe coldly indifferent and perhaps even hostile to the existence of life.