Thursday, September 23, 2021

LE MONDE PAR LE FEU - À NÉANT (2021)


 I've always been interested in the First World War and make a point to watch any documentaries covering the subject that appear on tv. Recently I watched the movie 2017 and as it's fresh in my mind, I can't help but connect it to the debut album of Le Monde Par Le Feu. 'À NÉANT' invokes an image of No Mans Land. The landscape is bleak, barren and churned by numerous detonations of sludge accompanied by vocals sounding like the cries of the mortally wounded.

Le Monde Par Le Feu consists of Cho and Ben from doom/sludge/death metal band Oldd Wvrms and Thomas from the French black metal band Pénitence Onirique and some of the sounds from both bands has influenced the music of Le Monde Par Le Feu but this new unit isn't a clone by any means. For instance, the doom element of Oldd Wvrms has been diluted slightly in favour of a more post-metal sound, but fear not, the album still sounds really heavy due to the more aggressive sludge passages that follow the intricate melodic parts so typical of this type of music. I'm particularly pleased that this new band has added a vocal delivery, pained as it is, alongside synths, giving more depth to each track and an atmosphere of toxicity beyond anything Oldd Wvrms has released.

I tend to find that many post -metal bands fall into the trap of over experimentation, not so with Le Monde par le Feu. Most of the tracks are reasonably lengthy, but superbly structured, ebbing and flowing like a windswept, stagnant pool, the most surprising one, however, being 'Scolopendre' which is the least complex track on the album but the riff really does remind me of Gojira.

RECOMMENDED - Song structures, not too much experimentation, excellent production quality, blackened harmonies enhanced by charred sludge.





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