Penitencé Onirique - Nature Morte (2023)

Penitencé Onirique is another French black metal act with its post-black influences anchored rather solidly in the more traditional elements of the genre, and their first two records had some great aesthetics when it came to packaging and style, even if the the music itself wasn't constantly winning me over. There was a slight step up in quality between V.I.T.R.I.O.L. and Vestige, and Nature Morte ups their ante yet again with an even more measured and memorable of melody, atmosphere and aggression, not to mention the curious and creepy, thorny floral photography which stands out as a little unique and artsy, yet perfectly melded to the flavor of the songwriting itself.

This one had me right as I got my foot in the door with its excellent intro to "Désir", a swell of percussion and cinematic ambient/orchestration that surged relentlessly into the blasting. It's actually this constant hovering of the symphonic vibe right on the edge of the searing intensity that really rounds out Nature Morte, there is always something tantalizing to the ear, and while I couldn't tell you that every riff is strikingly unique or catchy, there are more than enough to fit that latter category, and the tunes are paced very well to provide potent breaks or balanced against the blazing speed of some of their attack. A spacier, slower tune like the title track works equally well, and allows a little more verve to the bass lines and power to the drawn-out, impassioned rasps, with some really climactic moments that nearly knocked me out of my chair.

There's not a lot of experimentation, necessarily, but for example they have the dramatic instrumental "Lama Sabachthani" which is a lovely respite from the more relentlessly-paced material, and it's just further proof of how well balanced this whole disc is. I was stunned into submission through most of its 46 minutes, the perfect template of tempering a more traditional BM style with epic atmospherics and mildly progressive overtures to keep it present in the listener's conscience, Hands down one of the better French black metal records I've come across this year, and a formidable elevation from the material that preceded it, not that there was anything terribly wrong with that, but if I'm recommending albums from this niche, I'll direct you straight to this as one of the stronger examples in that second tier beneath the more internationally respected (or infamous) groups from that scene. An awesome album and more importantly, a worthwhile experience.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552292063281

Pénitence Onirique - Vestige (2019)

The Pénitence Onirique debut V.I.T.R.I.O.L. back in 2016 might not have completely won me over, but it was unarguably a wall of ebullient, shining black metal force which approached from an interesting angle a genre which is too often defined by convention or cloning those to come before. Granted, there is a backbone of traditional atmospheric Euro BM behind what the Frenchmen are writing, but the unending wall of sound created by the guitars and vocals gave it a fresh feel without quite teetering off into that boggy stretch of the medium we characterize as 'post-' anything. Their new album, Vestige, might not possess such a transcendent look to it on the surface, but I found the subtleties and variation here a fraction more enjoyable than I found its predecessor.

The pacing here shifts between surging, blasting black metal textured with repetitious, higher guitar patterns that are constantly saturating the upper atmosphere of the album with an ambient or post rock flavor, and then more measured, longer pieces which accomplish much the same but through a more stolid, doomed approach. On occasion the band will drop out the beats and just let some of the melodic pickings ring out, and it's glorious, the entire album feels like this tide that is going to drown you, release you, and then drown you again. The vocals are primarily molded in the traditional rasp that was also dominant on the debut, however they'll throw some cleaner chants, howls and even some more brutal guttural vocals in there just to increase the diversity of emotions they can flatten you with. They don't repeat themselves too often rhythmically, I mean the blasted stuff is probably one of the higher percentages but even in that you'll hear little differences in the drums or the fabric of the guitars being woven above them that help distinguish them a little, even though as a whole the record is incredibly fluid and coherent. Drums are intense, bass lines are solid even if they don't really poke through the desperate mass of sounds above them.

Now I think, atmospherically, Pénitence Onirique has its style on lock, and there's a certain segment of the modern black metal fandom which just wants that snarling intensity measured up against a more shoegaze-like panoply of chord options who really aught to check this band out, and in fact to that same crowd I say also track down V.I.T.R.I.O.L. One area in which I still think the group can grow, however, is by writing catchier guitar patterns...while I love the sonic half of their approach, there aren't a lot of guitar licks here that truly wanted to draw me back towards the album. Even the instrumental 'interlude' piece "Hespéros" felt like it was just sort of drifting there, a fine backdrop for a morning rise from bed with the sun glaring upon your brown, but not possessing any inherent note patterns that stuck with me, no infectious melodies embedded in there. It's all just sort of competently crafted emptiness that suits an emotional notion, almost like incidental music, and there's a place for that, surely, but it still lacks the hooks to become much more.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://penitence-onirique.bandcamp.com/

Pénitence Onirique - V.I.T.R.I.O.L (2016)

V.I.T.R.I.O.L is a beautiful looking CD package, a trait I'm starting to associate with Les Acteurs de 'Ombre recordings on the whole, this one through its sub-label Emanations. Upon reading this French duo's genre, I was expecting some black metal of an atmospheric inclination, and that is precisely what is showcased throughout five substantial tracks of about 8-11 minutes in length each. However, Pénitence Onirique does not achieves its goal through techniques one might expect...this is not a work of endless ambient passages ceding and receding from the predicted grimness of its medium, but rather a straightforward barrage of black metal given a gleam by the very resonance of its guitar chords and melodies.

Yes, with the exception of the slogging bass line and open picking that christen the title track, and an occasional atmospheric cutaway (like the one in the midst of "Le Sel"), this is roughly 50 minutes of pure black metal force channeled through the shining imagery it evokes upon its external appearance. Floods of chords and and tremolo picked melodies cascade and crescendo about the ceaseless thundering of the beats, and the album relies heavily on repetitious sequences to transport its listener off to the landscapes within the band's own inner vision. The pacing will occasionally subside to a wall of simple, heavy chords above which some airy, almost folksy notes are painted like clouds (also in the belly of "Le Sel"), but this is not necessarily a band out to oust convention from their creative process, rather than hone it onto a particular element of stay consistent to that for vast gulfs of time. The vocals are a standard, often sustained black rasp in French, that gets lost in the streams of notes but also helps to give it a grimier, more fulfilling effect as the shadows of corruption seek to crumble the listener from his/her exposure to higher-pitched, light-touched tones.

I struggled a little with my overall reaction to V.I.T.R.I.O.L because it's an album I find successful at finding and sticking to its chosen soundscape, just one I didn't really enjoy. The devil is in the details, and for me there just weren't enough enduring, memorable riffs fueling the experience. There are certainly a handful of highlights, but even with repeated listens there wasn't a lot of aural subtext which emerged from the constant momentum it thrives upon. It occasionally bordered on those mesmeric patterns it seems to promise, but I almost feel that a little more dynamic range and variety would have done the record a world of good...because when that occurs, it does. However, when you're in the right head space for an album that feels like you're staring at sunlight reflected off an icy, glacial mass that extends as far as one can see...OR, if you're in the market for that strain of repetitive, melodic black metal that a lot of French-Canadian acts like Forteresse seem to have mastered, then Pénitence Onirique is a solid starter with potential.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://penitence-onirique.bandcamp.com/releases