VOUS AUTRES
Sel De Pierre
FRANÇOIS NUQ/PRESS
SEASON OF MIST
Gallic post-black metallers wrest their heads from the clouds
This French post-black metal duo’s second record emerges only a year after the debut but showcases impressive growth. Don’t let the ‘post’ prefix allow you to think that it’s an hour of hazy shoegaze; while that does indeed form some of what’s going on - an exhilarating updraft during opener Onde after a good few minutes of seismic pummelling for example - it’s an altogether sludgier affair. Vesuve follows, glittering in atmospheric darkness that paves the way for chasm-rending riffing. Vocalist ’s screams alone during the intro of Sans Sèves are earth-shattering, never mind the thunderous percussion beneath. Closing with Nitre’s nature sounds and electronic ambience, Vous Autres offer a unique twist on modern BM, less focused on dream states and rattling pace, instead offering cataclysmically crushing lamentations.