Nothing can stop Miserere Luminis now.
While we had to wait fourteen years between their first and second albums, the Quebec-based trio featuring Annatar (vocals/guitar, Sombres Forêts), Neptune (guitar/bass, Gris), and Icare (vocals/drums, Gris) has kept us waiting only three years for this third release, titled Sidera, which is out on Debemur Morti Productions.
Les fleurs de l’exil opens the doors to this dreamlike universe with very calm, ethereal touches, and even when the Black Metal roots begin to emerge, the sound—though impressive—remains extremely haunting, creating a contrast with the heart-wrenching screams that arise naturally. Though the hurricane subsides, it still captivates us just as much, relying on intoxicating harmonics to keep us in its grip before the vocal parts resurface, followed by the return of hellish distortion, complemented by drumming with strikes that are at times brutal but always polished, contributing to the gripping atmosphere that ceases only to make way for De cris & de cendres. The track once again begins with a certain melancholic gentleness that flares up, plunging us back into its haunting darkness of shouts and other dissonant harmonics which are, in turn, broken by a much lighter section where the voices intensify, summoning the violence that is just waiting to emerge. The track is much longer, allowing itself a rather jerky, highly catchy rhythm before a theatrical string finale that leads into Aux bras des vagues & des vomissures, where tranquility persists despite the appearance of vocals, barely fading to make way for an almost reassuring saturation in waves, encountering ever more languid softness before returning, full of penetrating leads. The orchestrations perfectly carry the simple yet haunting rhythm, which eventually fades into silence, letting the piano lead us to À la douleur de l’aube, a new composition that allows us to catch our breath before plunging us back into its dark ocean where we lose ourselves, letting ourselves be tossed about by the most intense passages while the most ethereal moments let us grasp the full power of the contrast. There are a few heart-wrenching screams bordering on DSBM, and the album ultimately draws to a close with Dans la voie de nos lumières, continuing to rely on a constant duality between a dark soul expressed through haunting vocals and an indescribable, almost unreal beauty, offering us some of the most intense riffs before another very gentle finale.
With just one album, Miserere Luminis had won over the hearts of many fans, and their return to songwriting was highly anticipated. Sidera is thus the third time the trio has managed to make us realize just how talented they are, undoubtedly offering one of the best works of the year.
95/100