A new offering from Bonjour Tristesse.
Led by German multi-instrumentalist Nathanael (Heretoir, ex-Agrypnie, ex-King Apathy, ex-Thränenkind), this fourth album, entitled The World Without Us, is the direct sequel to the previous one, and will be released in 2024 by Supreme Chaos Records.
Running on Emptiness plunges us straight into a visceral darkness where heavy rhythms and wrenching screams coexist and respond to each other, provoking several explosions of varying intensity that contrast with the calmer phases, but which never last very long. Striking vocal parts multiply as melancholic elements appear towards the end of the track, then Lightbearer takes over, returning to a more raw and chilling Old School approach, especially on those piercing melodies that accompany the ambient fury. The composition is short but incisive, and gives way to the dramatic melancholy of The World Without Us, a haunting eponymous track that sweeps us along in its tenebrous flood, swaying us between apathy and desperate rage. The bursts of energy are accompanied by heady melodies, in particular the terrifying explosion after the break that has nothing to envy to unhealthy DSBM, but the hurricane subsides before coming back to haunt us, taking us to Against the Grain where a violin joins the instrumental’s lament. We find the painful thrust of the vocals on the calmer moments, but also the power of despair on the frantic and unexpected passages, but The Great Catastrophe soon arrives to impose its slower rhythm on us. The rhythm becomes almost majestic as it accompanies the upbeat leads, but the musician will not fail to offer us another devastating acceleration to give life to his sorrow, which will end up inexorably returning to the quietude before its fall.
This new chapter of Bonjour Tristesse allows its creator to express his pain through five tracks as black as they are devastating. The World Without Us is a collection of intense sadness like few others.
95/100
A few questions to Nathanael, creator and headmaster of the German Black Metal project Bonjour Tristesse, about the release of his fourth album The World Without Us.
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! How could you introduce the band Bonjour Tristesse without using any musical label, such as “Black Metal”?
Nathanael (all instruments/vocals): Bonjour Tristesse is melancholy and fighting spirit, negativity and uncompromising resistance, bleak darkness and a dying spark of hope.
The name Bonjour Tristesse comes from a poem by Paul Éluard, but how do you link it to the music you play? Why did you decide to use a French name for your band?
Nathanael: When I read Françoise Sagan‘s novel Bonjour Tristesse for the first time almost 20 years ago, I was fascinated by its strange and melancholic atmosphere. The poem A Peine Défigurée by Paul Éluard, that inspired Sagan for the title of her book, was printed before the actual text, and I was immediately captivated by its poetic power. I found it very interesting, that Éluard was active in the resistance against the National Socialists and began to study his person and his texts. The resistant indomitability and the uncompromising attitude, that was present in his life as well as in his writings, fitted perfectly to what I had in mind for a black metal band.
The band is about to release its fourth full-length, The World Without Us. How do you feel about it? Do you already have any feedback?
Nathanael: It feels good to get these songs out into the world. They mean a lot to me and frankly i think that The World Without Us is the best album of the band. The feedback i got already is very positive. People seem to like the songs a lot and the record made first place (together with Blood Incantation‘s Absolute Elsewhere) in the October soundcheck of metal.de – one of the biggest Metal websites in Germany.
How would you sum The World Without Us’ identity up in only three words?
Nathanael: Weltschmerz (“world-weariness”, ed.), downfall, hopelessness.
How did the creation process happen for The World Without Us? The album is stated as the second part of a two-album cycle, how did you link it to Against Leviathan!, the first part? Did you notice some changes or evolutions in the creation process?
Nathanael: I wrote and recorded both records during the pandemic. They sound rather raw and are, if you like,“truer” than the previous record Your Ultimate Urban Nightmare. Similar inspirations led to the writing of the records and they share a common leitmotif: As a critical thinker, you can find grievances, darkness and pain everywhere in our world. Industrialized civilization’s belief in progress and its addiction to technology has led to the destruction of the natural world since the beginning of agriculture, and increasingly so since the industrialization. The egoism and arrogance of so-called “humanism” is devouring the last natural spaces. Wilderness is becoming increasingly rare. In addition, modern humanity is destroying itself. Isolated and consumed by social media mania, more and more people are losing the ground beneath their feet. When I write Bonjour Tristesse material, different philosophers and radical thinkers are a huge inspiration for me. Hannah Arendt for example precisely and aptly analyzed the forlornness of mass society. Martin Heidegger got to the heart of the problems of technology and thinkers such as Lewis Mumford were able to show the extent to which the modern urban world isolates its inhabitants. Paul Shepard and John Zerzan – based on the groundbreaking findings of archaeological research over the last 50 years – have formulated a profound social critique that is of great importance for the two latest Bonjour Tristesse records.
Is the artwork from R. L. Tubbesing again? What were the guidelines for this one, and how do you link it to the previous record’s artwork?
Nathanael: The artwork for The World Without Us was created by the talented artist who runs Brookesia Studio. It is framed by a Tubbesing frame to match the last records album cover. The symbolism of both artworks accompanies the overarching/underlying storyline: Against Leviathan! focuses on the struggle against the moloch of civilization and the blind faith in the myth of progress. Tubbesing’s white raven was inspired by a very interesting Native American myth about reclaiming their world from the white invaders. The burning zeppelin “Hindenburg” on the album cover is a symbol of both the downfall of fascism and the end of industrial civilization. The cover of The World Without Us shows the ruins of a factory and birds and plants reclaiming the space. In the center is a lone wolf looking at the viewer. The ruins prove that the “civilized” world has perished and its remains are being taken back by nature. The wolf as the main protagonist of the picture makes it clear that this world is ruled by animals, not humans. Both album covers are therefore both tragic and hopeful, depending on the viewer’s perspective. The art is intended to encourage the viewers/listeners to reflect on these themes and inspire them to draw their own conclusions.
About the album itself, the band’s sound is anchored in Black Metal, but how do you add your own violent but melancholic touch? Are there any bands you would consider as sound-inspiration?
Nathanael: I am not sure if I have a compelling answer to this question. When I feel inspired to write a Bonjour Tristesse song, I take my guitar and try to create sounds that reflect my emotions. In the end this is all I do and I learned that Black Metal offers the most powerful ways to do this. If this leads to some sort of recognisable Bonjour Tristesse “signature atmosphere” I am quite happy with it. My music always comes from within. Sadness is the basic mood and indeed the emotional leitmotif of the band. There are angry, desperate, hateful and hopeful Bonjour Tristesse tracks, but in the end they are all sad. Inspirations for me are all classic Black Metal bands…if i had to pick three specific bands i would name early Austere, early Xasthur and Woods of Desolation.
Do you have a favorite song on this album? Or maybe the hardest one to achieve for the album.
Nathanael: My favourite might be Running on Emptiness, because it is dramatic, melancholic and full of anger, scorn and energy. It resembles very well what the whole record stands for. I also really like the finale of the title track The World Without Us, because it is especially negative and emotionally touching. I think you can feel the grief and the heartfelt sadness that went into this part.
Where do you find your inspiration to create music and lyrics?
Nathanael: A lot of things inspire me to write Bonjour Tristesse songs, since so many elements of our daily lives are inherently wrong, painful, destructive or horrible in any form. We live in societies that are built on greed, destruction, egoism and emptiness. The perceived powerlessness and the resulting anger about the superficial and completely meaningless everyday world of so many people and the deep sadness about the loss of the natural world are the main inspirations and driving forces behind Bonjour Tristesse. I am interested in many different topics and I like to read a lot. A new insight can be inspiring and lead to the creation of a song. For example, I can recommend everyone to read Perlman‘s Against His-story, Against Leviathan and Zerzan‘s Future primitive, both have been huge inspirations for the last two records. As an introduction to a critique of civilization, I would recommend Henry David Thoreau‘s Walden and Daniel Quinn‘s Ishmael. I always wanted to know why the world is the way it is. The books mentioned have all provided food for thought. However, despite all the theory, one should not forget that life (for the most part) does not take place in books and that meaningful experiences in living together with other people or in interaction with nature are of a completely different quality. The sociologist and metalhead Hartmut Rosa describes nature as one of the most important spheres of resonance for humans, necessary to build a successful relationship with the world and a healthy character. I find that very convincing. In this sense it is of no use to only read about nature, you have to set off and walk into the wild. In our artificial, noisy and hypocritical world the mountains and forests, surrounding my home, are places of retreat and inner peace for me.
Bonjour Tristesse is a one-man band, but would you like to play your songs live, and why?
Nathanael: I get asked quite frequently if I will ever play live shows with Bonjour Tristesse. I really like the thought, but it would mean to pour a lot of time and energy into realizing this. I would need to find interested musicians (although I already know some who would love to do it), we would need to rehearse and of course spending time on the road with Bonjour Tristesse could become challenging while also playing in Heretoir – and vice versa. So in general I would love to play live someday, but I am not sure if it will ever happen. Let’s see what the future holds.
You collaborate with the label Supreme Chaos Records for two albums now, how is the relationship between you?
Nathanael: Very good. I like Robby, the owner of the label, very much. During the last years he gathered a competent crew around himself, who does a great job in reducing the chaos in Supreme Chaos Records. Robby is always enthusiastic and full of creative energy and in the end, he always delivers high quality records in various versions.
Are there any musicians or artists you would like to collaborate with? Whether it is for one song, or maybe more.
Nathanael: Some come to mind, but all in all I am quite happy to be the lone wolf creating Black Metal on his own.
What do you know about the French Metal scene? Are there any bands you know and like?
Nathanael: I played several times in France and I always enjoyed the people and the scene there. Concerning bands: I have to name Alcest of course. The music is amazing and they are very nice guys. Once we met Pierre (Pierre “Zero” Corson, live guitarist, ed) in Mexico while we (Heretoir) were on tour there, which was really great.
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours.
Nathanael: Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my band and about what inspires me to make music.