By: Josh McIntryre
Album
Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 21/02/2020
Label:
Throatruiner
“Animal
Bouffe Animal” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Sentir Le Vide
2. Ton Univers Mental M’Épuise
3. Foutu Pour Foutu
4. La Gueule Ouverte
5. Parole De Hyène
6. Animal Bouffe Animal
2. Ton Univers Mental M’Épuise
3. Foutu Pour Foutu
4. La Gueule Ouverte
5. Parole De Hyène
6. Animal Bouffe Animal
The
Review:
The comparisons to Plebeian Grandstand are inevitable given this
initially being a project of that band’s bassist, Oliver L. That being said, Mourir stands out on its own and
brings us an album that I fully expect to be one of 2020’s best in black metal.
This is more on the side of
atmospheric black metal if we want to be picky but that doesn’t mean that Mourir stays in the background.
The music isn’t exactly trance inducing. Instead, like Plebeian, Mourir is dark, dissonant, and
downright aggressive. Its animalistic bite comes from the production as it is
absolutely in-your-face the majority of the time whether blast-beats are
pounding with a cranked snare (much louder than most black metal) or when they
are pulled back for more crushing sections. Even the ambient sections feel
threatening. In addition to this hell-inducing music the vocals are bestial,
demonic. They sound like the core of someone’s inner being, with all of their
existential anguish, lashing out onto the world.
Heavy metal has been inducing this
kind of imagery for fifty years now so it is rare to find a band that stands
out in its brutality. This, for me, rings even more true within the black metal
genre, a culture filled with bands that try to be ‘dark and evil’ but just end
up mellow and corny. It just sounds so personal with Mourir. It’s the difference between
fantasy violence, like playing Mortal Kombat as a kid, and seeing actual blood
from an actual person. It’s the nausea felt by Antoine Roquentin and the bitter
ennui we’d expect from Sisyphus, even if he’s supposed to be happy. There’s a
certain psychological realism at play that’s hard to explain but ultimately
it’s our ability to relate that makes it all the more gruesome and yet so much
more interesting.
“Animal Bouffe Animal “is supposed to sound like we’re being pulled into Hell (and reads like it from
what I gather using Google to translate the French lyrics) yet it feels like
the human id screaming at a world it is mismatched with, as if Hell is just a
metaphor. Misþyrming and Blut Aus Nord stand out as other bands
I’d liken Mourir to and this record is
easily as good as the 2019 albums from both, respectively. When you want your
black metal to be disgusting and aggressive this record is a must.
“Animal Bouffe Animal” is
available HERE
