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artist: Solfatare
title: Asservis par L'espoir
year: 2025
genre: Black Metal
type: Album
label: Signal Rex
language: French
rel. date: 2025-05-02
source: WEB/MP3
quality: CBR 320kbps / 44.1 kHz / Joint Stereo
runtime: 00:42:19
size: 101.67MB
rip date: 2025-05-01
source url: http://play.qobuz.com/album/dloiotahyaksc
tracklist:
1. Des Monarques Anhedoniques 6:45
2. D'hommes et d'isopteres 7:07
3. Du Deuil Affaire 7:16
4. Ozymandias 5:08
5. Sous des Cieux Absents 7:16
6. Quand ton Cerveau te Surine le crΓne 8:47
release notes:
Enslaved by the hope of primacy and driven to acts of desperation the
clawing hands and hungered mouths of the polis speak and act without
purpose, hurling their absurd din and damage directly into the fuming
mouth of the underworld for the sake of tactless existential commune.
Assailing the tormented inner-dead as they lift the veil upon nihil
Brussels, Belgium-based black metal trio SOLFATARE delight in turmoil
as passage, boiling up with dread-angst and coursing it into a
bristling dance between dissonant and melodious phrase on this
carefully crafted, poetically rich debut full-length album. æAsservis
par lÆespoiræ may very well pull from well-trodden terrain for its
central rhythmic action, and in this sense the bandÆs work is
familiar, they escape a rote experience per their own driven
authorship which already reads as wizened beyond its years. Held on
the verge of the flame and yarning an old-world maze of despair within
their first grand statement these fellowes arenÆt lacking in their
umpteenth generational European nihilistic existentialism as
foundation, every word and riff drips with it as they arrive upon both
their own disenchantment and the greater doom of the species.
Solfatare formed at some point nearby 2019, likely around their time
in university, and with interest for the properties of Icelandic and
French black metal scenery of the 2010Æs the trioÆs muse centers
around avant-garde/dissonant and melodic traits in fluxion and trade.
In interviews theyÆve expressed appreciation for everything from
Emptiness, Mis■yrming and Blut Aus Nord as well as interest in
traditional heavy metal, death metal and more atmospheric black metal
a la Drudkh. This level of eclecticism (or, finer taste) in
exploration of underground metal and its abstractions naturally fed
the trioÆs first demo (æPrΘmicesæ, 2019) as the awakening of the
fruiting body but not yet the primal hedge-maze of the mind relayed.
The nearly nine minute ôOntogenΦse du malheurö is probably the best
precedence set for what to expect of æAsservis par lÆespoiræ, a long
and winding path with strong immersive qualities. If youÆve any
interest in checking out their formative work it is worth noting the
preliminary form of ôOzymandiasö found on that demo as it is the one
song to make it on this first album, albeit a much shorter version of
the song, and this should allow the best direct indication of growth
in the ~four years since their first release.
The inertia that shakes humanityÆs death rattle only grows more
intense in the whirling thoughts of Solfatareæs lyricist as mass
anhedonia, endless mourning, increasingly lifeless skies all gnaw in
mind with consideration for past mythos and present reality. The
futility of empire, and civilization for that matter, greets us
throughout the full listen æAsservis par lÆespoiræ starting with
opener ôDes Monarches Anhedoniquesö a grating brush through
dread-toned flexion of their rhythmic hand(s) and the straining of
muscles against increasingly defeated will, ringing ædissonanceÆ hangs
in the air rather than shapes it, leaving the phrasing of these events
largely to the vocals, an act of clangorous drift that resolves in
descent via its dark channel. If you enjoyed the blunt and restless
ache of Forsmßnæs album back in 2021 this sound should feel
complimentary to some degree, particularly the vocalistÆs range of
barking narration and exclamatory outburst. It isnÆt an absolutely
plain opening even but rather an appropriate induction, one which
prepares the ear for extensive and verbose treatment to match these ~7
minute on average deliberate, seething mid-paced black metal pieces to
start.
ôDÆHommes et dÆIsopteresö more-or-less continues the conversation to
start ebbing toward the ~4 minute mark with declarative and buzzing
strength before the bandÆs interest in atmospheric coincides with a
few choice melodious outbursts, not complete phrases outright but
slowly compelled call-and-response between the two main rhythm guitar
voices. At this point IÆd begin to make the argument that this album
is a slow-growing stream of consciousness, a dissertation that isnÆt
complete Ætil weÆre all the way downstream of its impact. In this
sense the major action of the record will be its guitar work and yet
not every song will reveal its distinction outright, if at all, to the
passing ear. The point that I was most stricken by Solfatareæs work
and the progression of skill beyond their 2019 demo arrived within
this new version of ôOzymandiasö which amounts to their most contained
guitar work, bounding grooves and retains the greater tension of the
album even within its most ôrelaxedö and swinging movements.
Have we moved at all? Again, the consistent voice of this album does
flow downstream in dramatic swathes of action but the core device
which drives Solfatare is unflinching even within its most poignant
and melodious upsurges. The conversation remains tactful, blustering
but focused as we strike upon what IÆd consider the true peaking
gloria of the album, ôSous des Cieux Absentsö. The impact of the song
and its unfurling second half is all the more effective in the context
of a full and uninterrupted listen versus skipping right to the heat
of it all but either way it is the prime mover on the record from my
point of view. Not to undersell album closer ôQuand ton Cerveau te
Surine le CrΓneö but it is more of a cumulative, riling endpoint
beyond the spire-and-collapse of ôSous de Cieux Absentsö.
While the full listen may very well provide something the dedicated
black metal fan has heard before on some level there is no denying the
energetic conviction which heats these pieces to a boiling sense of
action. For my own taste Solfatare are somewhere in between a ôfor
fans ofö recommendation via clearly expressed points of inspiration
and an impressive debut which already speaks with a voice of its own.
IÆm not sure I can convince the average black metal fan to apply
themselves to soak up lyrics α propos du nihilisme en franτais but in
my case the combination of their poetic license and the Jean Delville
painting excerpt theyÆve used as the album cover was an inspired joy
to parse and marvel over as an immersive, well-formed and serious
debut LP.