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░ ██ ██ Artist: Cepheide ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Respire █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2016 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2016-08-23 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Black Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Ogmios Underground ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ In 2014, French band Cepheide released their debut █
█ CD recording, a strong and moody ambient black █
█ metal work with plenty of fire and aggression. █
█ Cepheide's follow-up work, "Respire", is also a █
█ powerful release but one that goes in a very █
█ different direction with much more emphasis on █
█ deep immersion in particular atmospheres and █
█ moods. Whereas the earlier recording featured █
█ short songs, "Respire" consists of two tracks of █
█ varied styles of music each meandering past the █
█ 15-minute mark. █
█ First track "Le Souffle Br√lant De L'ImmaculΘ" is █
█ an urgent epic piece of heart-rending sadness and █
█ despair with tortured howling vocals, thumping █
█ percussion, rapidly fluttering tremolo guitar █
█ loops and near-hysterical background synth wash. █
█ The guitar chords and riffs have a heavy, doomy █
█ tone, and these are sure to make a strong █
█ impression on listeners as the music changes █
█ constantly throughout. The track is nearly all █
█ rapid-fire pacing with no pauses for rest and █
█ introspection that allow listeners time to fully █
█ absorb everything they're hearing. █
█ "La Chute d'Une Ombre" is the mega-departure from █
█ the band's usual style of moody BM, starting as a █
█ darkly sinister, brooding world of ominous █
█ deep-space drone wash through which stray tones, █
█ echo and possible ghostly voices from another █
█ universe float and drift. Full-on black metal █
█ activity including deranged shrieking comes in █
█ about the 7th minute and continues for several █
█ minutes, gradually slowing down into something █
█ more rhythmic and doomy, and not completely fading █
█ away in the deep and grim darkness. The rest of █
█ the track is a battle between the forces of chaos █
█ and those of sanity, fighting for possession of █
█ the screaming vocalist. █
█ Both tracks are almost opposed to each other in █
█ their relative balance of BM and atmospheric █
█ music, yet both share a distinct vision of deep █
█ pain and madness. The brooding ambience is heavy █
█ and suffocating, and the suffering and anguish █
█ expressed in the vocals is too agonising for █
█ listeners to bear. The drama in the second track █
█ as it continues relentlessly through confusion and █
█ shadowy desolation reaches extremes of on-the-edge █
█ horror. The only problems listeners might have █
█ with the EP are the lengths of both tracks - their █
█ introductions are very slow, and maybe some █
█ editing here and there could speed up the music █
█ and lessen the agony - and the production which █
█ throws an alienating veil of echo and shadow over █
█ the music and blunts some of the riffing and █
█ melodies. █
█ This is a very good and ambitious second release, █
█ coming early in the band's career, with a good █
█ balance of experimentation and more structured █
█ music. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Le Souffle Br√lant de l'ImmaculΘ 16:55 ░
░ 2. La Chute d'Une Ombre 19:03 ░
░ 35:58 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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