Rebellion for Mourir.
A year and a half after their last EP, Olivier Lolmède (guitar/vocals, Drawers, Vermine, ex-Plebeian Grandstand), Alexandre Berenguer (guitar, Drawers), Théophile Antolinos (bass, Bruit ?, M83), and Maël Pretet (drums) have signed with Pelagic Records for the release of their new album, Nous, le venin.
We begin in a state of anxiety with Feu d’un regard, the opening track featuring a minimalist intro of percussion and a few background noises, but the imposing, haunting riffs soon make their entrance, followed by terrifying screams that make the mix as oppressive as can be. There are a few accelerations in this veil of darkness with its murky Sludge roots before moving on to Ennui Ennemi, where the sound becomes more complex, even more chaotic, as the musicians offer a visceral, jerky approach that shifts from a wave of violence to a calmer, dissonant passage without warning. The final scream is simply chilling, contrasting with the majestic tones of Mon rêve animal, which follows and exposes us to abrasive touches infused with unhealthy Black Metal as the composition unfolds, captivating us ever more thanks to its natural yet very heavy transitions. The finale is also very stripped-down, in contrast to Je est absent, which aims to be icy, almost distant, yet very heavy, before unleashing all its darkness at breakneck speed, a momentum that is abruptly cut short by a long, ethereal passage, only to restart and drown us once again. Strange noises accompany us as we move on to Aux inutiles, the next track, which starts off with a bang and knocks us out with waves of explosive, steady beats, leading us into the dark, bestial side of the most frenzied riffs while borrowing from DSBM in the vocals. The album concludes with the lengthy Nous, le venin, a composition spanning over 10 minutes that takes its time to distill its imposing and dark musical vision, blending all the project’s roots into a thick torrent as dark and suffocating for us as it is visceral for the quartet before the final release.
While Mourir is a project steeped in dark and oppressive influences, the result is almost intimate, screaming with realism. Nous, le venin is undoubtedly too obscure for the average listener, but those who appreciate it won’t let it go!
90/100
A few questions to Alexandre Berenguer, guitarist for the band Mourir, about the release of their new album, Nous, le venin.
Hello, and first of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with me! Without using any specific genre labels, such as “Black Metal,” “Sludge,” or other subgenres, how would you describe the band Mourir?
Alexandre Berenguer (guitar): Hello, and thank you very much for this interview! Mourir’s music is an attempt to create suffocating music, to provoke a sense of discomfort at times, but also moments of epic grace at other times. It has to be a cathartic experience.
Why did you choose the name Mourir, and how do you personally relate it to the music you play, even after the few years that have passed since the band’s formation?
Alexandre: I think Mourir came about from the idea of having a simple yet impactful name, one that evokes something everyone on the planet knows, but at the same time something that isn’t trivial at all. Not trivial in the sense that it’s serious or even taboo, given how intense the emotional violence it can generate is. And I think it’s that emotional violence that we’re trying to recreate with our music.
Your third album, Nous, le venin, comes out next month, how are you feeling as a band? Have you gotten any feedback on it yet?
Alexandre: It’s our first album since Théo (bass) joined the band. He also plays in Bruit ?, and his arrival has brought a new, noisier “wall of sound” dimension to our music. So far, we’ve been getting good feedback, it’s a dense album that might throw listeners off at first, but it leaves you wanting more.
How would you sum up Nous, le venin in three words?
Alexandre: Lively, sincere, aggressive.
How did the songwriting process for Nous, le venin go? Did you notice any changes or an evolution compared to previous releases?
Alexandre: We usually start with computer demos, which Olivier (guitar/vocals) and I refine, then we put those demos to the test in rehearsal with Théo and Maël (drums). Usually a lot of changes are made at that point, and we go back and forth between rehearsal and the computer until we have a final demo of the song and, at the same time, know exactly how to play it live for the studio. It’s a process we’ve been using since our album Disgrâce. Before that, on Animal bouffe animal, it was Olivier who came up with all the ideas, since Maël and I weren’t at all familiar with the style… that was our chance to learn its conventions and culture from Olivier.
The band’s sound blends a very raw Black Metal foundation with touches of Sludge and much calmer moments, almost stripped-down or experimental… How do you manage to blend all your roots to create your own unique sound? Which bands would you cite as your main influences?
Alexandre: As I mentioned in the previous question, the fact that only Olivier comes from a Black Metal background and is the only one with a deep knowledge of that style, especially 1990s Norwegian Black Metal, means that when it comes to composing, the other three can bring their own influences to the table, namely post-metal and sludge elements in the vein of Neurosis or Cult of Luna. And also the desire to push certain boundaries as far as possible, to not stick to the conventions of any particular style, but to forge our own path within it. I think Mourir is a blend of all these influences colliding.
The album’s tracks reveal a very pessimistic and dark view of the world, reinforced by the very heavy and oppressive sound. What motivates you to write as a band?
Alexandre: Olivier handles the lyrics and song titles, so he chooses the themes we address, but there’s been a common thread since Disgrâce, observing the world around us in a very urban context. The albums address violence in our society; we’re from Toulouse, one of France’s largest cities, where social violence is omnipresent and intensifies every day. On Nous, le venin, the pessimistic observation is that, despite ourselves, we’re part of the problem, since we can’t easily extricate ourselves from the system without putting our physical and mental health at risk. The reality is that most people have no choice but to embrace all or part of the system, and thus contribute whether they like it or not to systemic violence.
Do you think you’ve made progress or evolved as musicians and composers?
Alexandre: I think that since Animal bouffe animal, we’ve learned a lot about the conventions of traditional Black Metal so we can better make them our own and try to put our own spin on them. Also, we’ve been making music together for many years now, so we know each other inside and out and know what the others are capable of, which helps enormously. But we’re constantly trying to challenge ourselves technically, or in terms of sound!
Our album Le Venin is being released by Pelagic Records, how did you first get in touch with them? What about your collaboration with Agence Singularités for press relations?
Alexandre: We owe both of these collaborations to Théo, who was already working with them on Bruit ?. Robin from Pelagic was interested in the project because our style is completely absent from his catalog, so he wanted to challenge his audience a bit to see how it would go over.
The artwork is pretty unsettling, split in half for the CD/vinyl version, but whole for the cassette, and depicts a standing man. I can’t really figure out what it represents. Can you tell me a little more about it, whether it’s about how it was created or its meaning?
Alexandre: That’s right. Due to the ever-present censorship on social media which we’d love to do without but have no real choice but to use, we decided to crop the cover image. But it will be featured in its entirety on the back of the record! It’s an oil painting by our fellow Toulouse native Thomas Davezac, and it depicts a naked man, his gaze completely elsewhere and unperturbed as he faces two dogs fighting in an empty house. This man’s gaze is that of someone who realizes he’s part of the problem and that he won’t be able to escape it. And also that he’s finding it increasingly difficult to find beauty and to be moved.
The band has already played a handful of shows since its formation, how do you approach a concert with Mourir? Do you have any pre- or post-concert rituals?
Alexandre: That’s right, we’ve done several tours and played at several festivals. We approach concerts with the idea of delivering an intense, non-stop set but a relatively short one, around 35 minutes. It has to be a suffocating tunnel from start to finish.
You played at the legendary Hellfest, how did the show go from your perspective?
Alexandre: Great! The welcome from the Hellfest staff was truly incredible, so kind and professional. You can tell it’s a huge, well-oiled machine. We played in the Temple tent at 11 a.m., and the tent was packed, what more could we ask for… Then, as you know, it was the middle of a heat wave, and that was tough; luckily, we had access to shaded areas for the artists.
What are Mourir’s next projects following the album’s release?
Alexandre: We have a big European tour coming up in the fall, we’ve never toured for this long before, so we’re really looking forward to it! There are some great dates lined up, including the Soulcrusher Festival in the Netherlands.
Which bands do you dream of playing with? I’ll let you imagine your dream show with Mourir as the opening act and three other bands.
Alexandre: I think a dream show would be to play with Fluisteraars, The War on Drugs, and Torche.
Last question: What dish would you compare Mourir’s music to?
Alexandre: It’s hard for me to think of a specific dish, but we could compare Mourir to a Campari and tonic: it’s super bitter but super refreshing, and you still want to come back for more.
So that was my last question, thank you for your time, and the final words are yours!
Alexandre: Thanks for these questions and thanks for the support. Feel free to check out Nous, le venin on our Bandcamp page, and we hope to see you at a show this fall!