NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR - Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques
2013
Sepulchral Productions
Neige et Noirceur are probably one of the most occult, atmospheric black metal name coming out of the province of Quebec. Sole creator behind the entity, Spiritus masters darkness the same way he masters folk heritage and esoteric fantasy. I've been enjoying Neige et Noirceur's discography since the early demos, and while I think the quality of the many albums, splits and EPs has been inconsistent through the years, I was nonetheless looking forward to this new opus of snow and blackness.
A strong keyboard sound welcomes us as we step across the gate of Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques. First track and title song, "Gouffre Onirique..." is familiar ground, as it displays Neige et Noirceur trademark's evil-sounding guitar tone hung in the background, basic bass guitar lines, and an omnipresent orchestration of both artificial and natural noises. The wind blows fiercely on this song, carrying lost whispers, flowing alongside the tremolo picking and enshrouding the slow drum beat. There are no decipherable lyrics here, and no message but a black and cold 6min-27 atmospheric statement that serves as an intro to the album.
The next three songs, "Future Torture", "Écho des Abysses" and "Le Portail de Kadath", bring the extra dark colours over the cold and desolate winter night. This is where the black metal elements take shape, as the saturated vocals join the party, programmed drum accelerates, and the structure shifts slightly into something relatively standard for an atmospheric black metal band (we think of Sorcier des Glaces and Monarque, among others).
Like a bookend after these three songs, "La Marche des Astres Noirs" is reminiscent of the title track with its slow drum and fast guitar picking. The atmosphere created by the contrast of guitars and drums, used by many other bands including Quebec's Forteresse, works well in Neige et Noirceur's favor. I particularly like the arrangements at the end of that song, where an echoing double hit disappears in the distance, replaced by more keys. As this excellent song dies, it leaves a lot of place for the atmospheric (and shakespearean) trilogy "La Caverne de Glace" to be born, gracefully and without any effort. This transition has the powerful effect of dragging us deeper into a dark cave, to a second state of consciousness. To my opinion, this is where the dark magic on this album works best: we can't see where we're heading, but we still feel compelled to move forward.
In terms of artistic approach, Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques looks like another step back into the shadows. After moving slightly into the daylight with La Seigneurie des Loups, and stepping back with Hymnes de la Montagne Noire, I feel that on Gouffre Onirique Neige et Noirceur is somehow moving towards what it established with earlier and more occult releases such as L'Abîme des Jours, l'Écume des Nuits, or Crépuscule Hivernal sur les Terres de la Guerre, for example.
On the bright side, I feel that Neige et Noirceur brought us another interesting atmospheric slab of black metal. Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques possesses a great balance between ambiant parts and black metal moments; the passages are convincing, the songs are captivating. However, I feel that while Neige et Noirceur sticks to its guns with a winning formula, neither its composition nor its sound bring anything new to its discography (it made back the money for that keyboard sound a long time ago), making Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques another part of the same story. While it may not be the best album to start with if you're new to it, previous fans will definitely find something to enjoy as Gouffre Onirique et Abîmes Cosmiques continues the Neige et Noirceur journey.
http://www.zimondofin.com/neigeetnoirceur/
http://sepulchralproductions.bigcartel.com/
