Vestige takes us on its maiden voyage.
Created by Théodore Rondeau (vocals/guitar, Naraka), the project recruits Pierre-André Krauzer (Naraka) on bass, Quentin Regnault (Opal Insight, Aro Ora, Wrath of the Nebula…) on drums, and finally Thomas Petit on guitar to give birth to Janis, released with the support of Season of Mist.
The album gets off to a melancholy start with Différent, creating ethereal soaring and effects-laden notes that slowly ignite when the drums kick in, joining Deviens la Nuit where saturation and clean vocals dance together. The rhythm becomes more jerky, welcoming beastly howls and a much more aggressive approach, but softness obviously contrasts the mix before linking the two universes before letting Démence de l’Âme bewitch us in its turn. Shoegaze influences become evident in the progression to the most intense and explosive passages, which testify to the heaviness of the sound, then it’s with Océan that the band reveals its raw power, with double kick and groovy riffs underneath savage vociferations, all the while tempered by calmer passages. The band follows with Automne Part.1, featuring impressive Post-Metal elements and piercing Post-Black influences, complemented by a heady quietude. Then, in the company of Neige (Alcest), the band offers us Automne Part.2 in an atmosphere that their guest knows perfectly well, making the cleavage between the different elements even more striking. The mood becomes heavier as Appel de l’Âme begins, borrowing from Prog/Djent with its spasmodic riffs, but also more plaintive vocal parts, before returning to hazy tones on Corrosion, which returns to its haunting blazes between two clouds of soothing. The vocal parts are also more diversified, punctuating the track until it darkens with Stigmates du Temps, where dissonance prevails in the riffs, accompanied by regular visceral howls in a chaotic surge, before surrendering again to gentleness on Envol de l’Âme. Even the saturation doesn’t manage to take away the composition’s tranquility, until the devastating final that leads us to Avant la Fin, a two-part requiem that begins in total serenity before moving into a slightly more energetic section that finally fades into silence.
With its tortured and opposed sonorities, Vestige bears witness to a troubled period, but one that has given birth to Janis, a message as moody as it is hopeful, bringing modernity and airy tones together.
80/100