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Borgne – Temps Morts

borgne – temps morts

Info

‘Temps Morts’ is the tenth album by the Swiss Black Metal band Borgne. To all intents and purposes, on the first album (1998), the Industrial component manifested itself only in a Mysticum-like drum machine, while musically ‘I’ was Atmospheric Black Metal. Much has changed since then, but the atmospheric past is still making itself felt. To mention but one thing that most of the songs on the album contain a tremolo picking lead line, or at least what is very similar to such an atmospheric element, as the main musical decoration. This is exactly the kind of decoration, not at all the foundation of the compositions. However, it is quite enough to generate a modern version of Atmospheric Black Metal. Of course, “nature” is completely absent in this atmosphere: the album cover conveys / sets it rather accurately – it is an industrial post-apocalyptic landscape, lifeless and monotonous.

Considering that the songs are mostly long, this monotony is rather leadening. The structure of the songs also works in the best way possible to form the people-are-not-welcome-here picture: the guitar and synth parts are not conspicuous by variety, while repetitions are abundantly used, and at times the song is built on a single riff with a few deviation / improvisation. So a guitar or keyboard solo appears like a ray of sunshine, and from a tuneful point of view, it (a solo or lick) surpasses all the composer’s efforts that preceded it, this is really music, and before that there was only a background that was carefully hidden behind the synth modulations. There is no help for it, this is Industrial Black Metal.

But not only tremolo picking and keyboarding melodies give away Borgne’s “atmospheric roots” on ‘Temps Morts’. Industrial surrogates of acoustic guitar fingerpicking patterns are often generated on the album as well. In particular, the fifth song ‘I Drown My Eyes into the Broken Mirror’ is an analogue of an acoustic instrumental, a kind of “lyrical pause” on the album, typical for many Atmospheric Black Metal works. An electronic rhythm and synth-heavy sound camouflage this instrumental a bit, but on the whole its essence is pretty obvious. The last song, ‘Everything Is Blurry Now’, also starts with a (quasi)acoustic part accompanied by some cosmic noises – the manner is rather melodic here, too. And, of course, ambient inserts. As with any atmospheric black metal album, they are present on ‘Temps Morts’. Well, the same melancholic glooming melodies, but in a pronounced post-apocalyptic incarnation, with a noise touch: the final parts of ‘The Swords of the Headless Angels’, ‘L’écho de mon mal’, ‘Vers des horizons aux teintes ardentes’, ‘Where the Crown Is Hidden’.

There are also songs on ‘Temps Morts’ that under other conditions could be called epic, but the industrial marrow does not allow this: the sixth ‘Vers des horizons aux teintes ardentes’ is very solemn, while the last ‘Everything Is Blurry Now’ is palpably pompous, its first half includes a very slow, oppressive section with riffing in the vein of Celtic Frost. So it can be said that ‘Temps Morts’ contains a variety of Black Metal influences. However, Atmospheric Black Metal wins anyway.

But for all that, the first song ‘To Cut the Flesh and Feel Nothing But Stillness’ does not really fit into this genre definition. Well, this composition is rather built according to the precepts of Skinny Puppy, with modern vibe – a synth-heavy electronic groove with a deep bassline. Whereas in the guitar riffage one can guess none other than Rammstein – their song of the same name. In truth, it’s a bit of a strange idea to put the first song, which actually contradicts the main idea of the album. ‘To Cut the Flesh and Feel Nothing But Stillness’ contains more EBM than Black Metal, maybe such songs are not very interesting for black metallers to listen to. Well, it’s entirely possible that this composition sets the vector for the further development of Borgne. And the second song ‘The Swords of the Headless Angels’ is also not quite Industrial / Atmospheric Black Metal yet – although a blast beat section is already appearing here, the guitar part is mostly Industrial, without atmospheric piercingness. Only the third ‘L’écho de mon mal’ is “pure” Industrial / Atmospheric Black Metal.

As for the vector of development, then the eighth ‘Even If the Devil Sings into My Ears Again’ is an almost complete analogue of the first song – this is a pure Industrial composition with a strong, low electronic beat and synth-y touches. The guitar part, squashed in the mix, is again reminiscent of Rammstein, ‘Reise, Reise’ this time. However, a typical Black Metal tremolo picking lick appears at the end of the song, but it is minimalist and does not save the Black Metal-ish atmosphere at all. By the way, the previous song, ‘Where the Crown Is Hidden’, also stands out against the general “atmospheric” background, but it still has a very Black Metal attitude. This is a slow, threatening song that begins like some military march, and even the clanking of caterpillars can be heard here (well, if you have a rich imagination). The second ‘The Swords of the Headless Angels’, by the way, starts out about the same.

It mainly talked about the metal component of the album, it is self understood. On the other hand, even those who are not well versed in electronic music will be able to notice interesting electronic “schticks” on ‘Temps Morts’. For example, in ‘The Swords of the Headless Angels’ at 4:12, a low electronic beat is added to a canonical industrial black metal canvas, it is slower in tempo than a drum machine – and gradually it begins to set the tempo of the whole song. This bifurcation has an almost psychological effect. The finale of ‘L’écho de mon mal’ is notable for its “overdriven” drum machine – the drum beat sound seems to cling to itself and stumble. In ‘Near the Bottomless Precipice I Stand’ an interesting keyboard part enters at 3:35, the drum machine is programmed here unconventionally too, it has a quaint pattern and samplers. In the same song, it is worth noting the drum part from 5:43, very original. Ans check ‘Where the Crown Is Hidden’, it features a thumping drum sound starting at 2:57.

Nevertheless, despite these and other electronic tricks, if you compare ‘Temps Morts’, for example, with the latest Aborym opus ‘Hostile’, it becomes clear that Borgne is playing almost pure Black Metal. Yes, of course, industrial black metal, but if you now compare ‘Temps Morts’ with ‘Planet Satan’ by Mysticum, then Atmospheric Black Metal outweighs here beyond dispute. By the way, this perception is helped by vocals, canonical harsh Black Metal vocals. In the fourth ‘Near the Bottomless Precipice I Stand’, it’s beginning to feel that the vocals are more Black Metal-ish than the guitar, in the sense that they have more pristine vibe than the rhythm guitar part. Only ‘The Swords of the Headless Angels’ contains some almost Death Metal growls, and the singing in a clear voice can be heard in the fifth ‘I Drown My Eyes into the Broken Mirror’, a bit of a weird vocal style on ‘Stream from the Heavens’ by Thergothon.

Summary. ‘Temps Morts’ is Atmospheric Black Metal of the Twenty-First Century, that’s that.

Borgne

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