Here comes Mortuaire‘s debut album.
Following the release of their debut EP in 2022, Heddy Omer (vocals), Benjamin Sablon (drums, Endless Floods), Xavier Godart (bass, ex-The Great Old Ones), Shiran Kaidine (guitar, Year of No Light, ex-Monarch) and Stéphane Miollan (guitar, ex-Monarch) sign to World Eater Records to unveil Monde Vide.
The band kicks off with Mauvais présage, a thick and heavy first composition that introduces us to their abrasive variable-paced Death/Doom with cavernous French vocals and a few ominous harmonics. The mix is very effective, just as on Pyramide d’or, which gives us a moment’s respite before attacking with similar elements, featuring dissonant leads during the slow mysterious passages, but also on the almost mystical moments that strike from time to time. Another acceleration for Monde vide, the eponymous title track, but the song quickly shows that it’s made for oppression and haunting tones for almost ten minutes, rarely leaving room for lively rage before joining Tranchant, a rather noisy track at first. Once the feedback has passed, the track remains in a similar mood, offering violence and rough tones to a jerky rhythmic pattern, the better to carry us away to Iron Octagon, the perfect track to break your neck one last time while the vindictive speech deals its own blows, making this track a real beating before the very slow and minimalist second part, followed by a devastating final.
Mortuaire have undoubtedly mastered the codes of Death/Doom, and the French vocals don’t detract from their oppression. Quite short, Monde Vide will appeal not only to fans of infernal saturated sounds, but also to those looking for a slow dark mood.
85/100