Info
- Band(s): Miserere Luminis
- Label(s): Sepulchral Productions
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: June 16, 2023
- Author(s): VincentP
Miserere Luminis is a band with a bit of a mythical status in the Québécois Metal scene. Formed in 2008, it represented the collaboration of Neptune and Icare of the band Gris with Annatar of Sombres Forêts, two of the pioneering bands in the globally appreciated Métal Noir Québécois movement. With their self-titled debut, released in 2009 through Sepulchral Productions, Miserere Luminis united the bleak midtempo soundscapes of their main bands and blended it into a more dreamlike and meandering, pacier and at times dissonant and thought-provoking atmospheric Black Metal album. It could rightfully be called the best of both worlds and more than just the sum of its parts. And that ‘Miserere Luminis’ is still revered to this day is for instance clear when newer bands such as Orphique approach their take on atmospheric Black Metal much in the vein of that classic album.
But when a band doesn’t release anything for well over a decade it’s easy to assume to have ceased to exist. I certainly was led to believe that Miserere Luminis was a one-time project, a surging climax that then faded into memory and obscurity. Meanwhile, in 2013 both Gris and Sombres Forêts released an album, but then also their record releasing activity halted. A long wait followed that didn’t end until earlier in 2023 when Sepulchral Productions teased the gorgeous artwork for ‘Ordalie’. On June 24th Miserere Luminis will return with their sophomore album, featuring five tracks that span nearly 45 minutes of new music.
Those that have waited for the return will be pleased to find that not only are they back, but while Gris and Sombre Forêts have expanded their horizon since the collaboration, with ‘Ordalie’ Miserere Luminis mostly continues where ‘Miserere Luminis’ ended. But that there is fourteen years between the two albums is evident as well. In particular the production is a bit more modern and thereby a little bit clearer, but it still has a sufficiently sharp edge. The at time dissonant and slightly atonal character of the debut appears woven in a little bit more subtly on the sophomore album, instead opting for even more intricate and elaborate changes in pace to create a sense of restlessness in the music. The tempo shifts are often restricted to the ever changing drum fills and rhythms, something that’s particularly beautifully done in ‘La Fêlure des Anges’ where the backdrop of restless percussion contrast the soothing melody. The continuous balance of double layers of guitar, adventurous bass lines and creative drum fills together with beautiful piano melodies makes it the type of album that simply cannot be grasped with a few listens. Like the predecessor, this is the type of atmospheric Black Metal that guides you to different places every time you listen to it, revealing new elements every time you delve deeper into its unfolding beauty. The type of album that takes years to know, just like it takes years to craft.
The album has a beautiful flow to it, especially highlighted in the excquiste transition of the brooding and anxious ‘Les Couleurs de la Perte’ into the yearning sound of ‘De Venin et D’Os’, a song filled to the brim with enchanting melodies. Continously morphing guitar riffs, a bleak undertone and pained vocal performance of both vocalists make ‘Noir Fauve’ an impactful opener of the song, a piece of work that immediately pulls you into the album. ‘Le Sang des Rêves’ takes it time to build into a climax, like gathering clouds on a hot day that inevitably lead to heavy summer rain. And it’s exactly that longing, somewhat threatening sense of adventure that looms all over the album that truly makes it an astonishing listening experience.
What is clear is that ‘Ordalie’ is a most welcome return that shows the qualities of Miserere Luminis and the individuals involved in this extraordinary project. To me, this is some of the finest and most intricate atmospheric Black Metal available. But it’s impossible to compare an album that is this layered and evolving to a record that has been on people’s eardrums for 14 years. Even though I have spent substantial time listening to the album, comparing it to ‘Miserere Luminis’ is impossible. Ask me again in a year or so, as I’m sure I will be playing ‘Ordalie’ extensively for the foreseeable future.
Miserere Luminis
- Country: Canada
- Style: Black Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Bandcamp
