Dysylumn – Abstraction Review

By Thus Spoke

There’s a distinctive quality about French black metal that hints at its creators’ origin—and I don’t mean the language the lyrics are written in. It’s a sort of warmth that soaks into the guitar sound, which can alternately feel like roaring flames, spooky ethereality, or quaint mellifluousness depending on its implementation. Given this, it’s almost surprising that no one has done what Dysylumn do, and coalesced these interpretations into one.1 The shadowy, southern-France duo have quietly garnered a loyal fanbase in the black metal underground with an atmospheric black metal that borrows as much from the dissonant and avant-garde as it does the trve and classically melodic sub-genres. After dropping an epic double LP in 2020’s Cosmogonie, Dysylumn’s return with the comparatively miniature Abstraction is seemingly to remind us that they’re still out there, in the darkness. But what does it portend?

Abstraction is deliberately and appropriately titled. Formed of five numbered eponymous tracks, its structure invites interpretation as multiple processes of some coherent whole. This is further borne out by the style of the music itself, which manifests as a sprawling, semi-dissonant form of atmospheric black metal akin to putting Blut Aus Nord through a Mare Cognitum filter. In a progressive and sempiternal manner peculiar to the genre, melodies reprise and fall away behind echoing shouts and wails—sometimes creating a sound reminiscent of a more abstract Abduction[2. the UK one]—and movements are marked more by variation on the central theme than by special transformation—with some notable exceptions (“III,” “IV”). Its reverb and fuzz-laden tremolo, graceful yet uncomfy rhythm swaps, and frequent, impassioned throat-singing may demand patience and tolerance to the uninitiated. But it doesn’t damn Abstraction to the indistinct void; it creates one of its own.

If there’s anything Dysylumn have nailed with Abstraction, it’s the aura of mystique. By harnessing both the other-worldliness of unusual melody and moaning harsh vocals, and the ethereality of a subtly poignant, spacious atmoblack, the duo create a space simultaneously warm and cold. It’s weird, but it kind of works. You might be shivering at a weird high guitar line (“I,” “II,” “V”) and drifting off to a surprisingly mellow one (“IV,” “V”), and at the same time. Dysylumn switch keys and tempos frequently, but in a way that’s natural, as they slip from wintry second-wave to an almost post-black hum of plucks and taps (“III,” “IV”)—all styled in a reverb-heavy, glittery veil that’s grimy and crystalline simultaneously. With impassioned screams punctuating the peaks of dreamy and intense melodies alike (“II,” “IV”). The greatest moments on Abstraction see the strange and the beautiful fully coalesce in sweeping, stringlike tremolo melodies (“III,” “V”) and dramatically escalating, blackened-doom-coded releases (“IV”), against which gurgling growls turn to throat-singing, and then full-bodied screams. It’s here that I’m fully invested in the world that Dysylumn are crafting.

Abstraction has the power to draw in its listener by being this magical combination of headily atmospheric and slightly alien. Yet it’s not until the midsection—”Abstraction”s “III” and”IV”—that this power really shows. While “I” and “II” arguably set the scene by launching immediately into frosty and floaty off-kilter scales, they are plagued by a songwriting structure that sees them endlessly iterate the same melodic patterns, switching back and forth between the same keys. This tendency reappears, though less egregiously, since the repeated key-change movement pass is forgivable when, for example, Dysylumn use it above a d-beat (“V”), and not another shuffle, or blastbeat as before. The transition, then, into the dreamlike cascades of doomier, more nuanced guitar, punctuated by affecting crashes, bellowing climaxes, and palpable urgency, that characterises the move to “III” and “IV” is stark. Dysylumn avoid discontinuity by maintaining the key threads of the hazy, half-dissonant theme that runs through the record. But the fact that the first third of a 36-minute record is its worst, and so hinders a listener’s chances of reaching the deeper, more interesting material, is frustrating and confusing. On the flipside, given the strength of the warm-cold eeriness, particularly in “I,” this is a testament to Abstraction’s generally high quality. It’s probably better for an album to improve over its runtime than deteriorate.

All things considered, Abstraction deserves your patience. Short, but not forgettable, it might lend itself most immediately to distracted introspection, as with much of atmospheric music of its ilk. Yet beyond the haze, Abstraction contains genuine weirdness that’s just beautiful and dreamlike to capture the less-extreme-inclined, and real elegance that is but a few strokes away from the avant-garde. Dysylumn are on the precipice of something wonderful; they just need to find it.

Rating: Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Signal Rex
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Abstraction #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #BlutAusNord #Dysylumn #FrenchMetal #Oct25 #Review #Reviews #SignalRex

Solfatare – Asservis par l’espoir Review

By Kenstrosity

Belgian trio Solfatare prime the release of their debut record, Asservis par l’espoir, at a challenging time to compete in the black metal arena. With heavyweight acts dropping records right and left in this space in 2025, Asservis par l’espoir has its work cut out for it to make a big splash and a lasting impression. With only a demo to their name so far, Solfatare launch with a blank slate, adopting the traditional methods of offering as little identifying information as possible before unleashing its hellish shadow upon the land. We can only hope that that shadow obscures in totality all that stand before it, leaving only Solfatare in the hearts and minds of those who witness.

Asservis par l’espoir is nothing if not familiar. Black metal of this ilk gushes profusely out of the metalsphere, especially from regions of France, Germany, and Iceland. Belgium isn’t too far removed from those places, so influences ranging from Silhouette to Sun Worship to Svartidauði fit the prompt when taking in Solfatare’s material. Inject a bit of Vimur‘s sparkling brand of riff-craft, and Asservis par l’espoir becomes a compelling entry on paper. Boasting a rich and full mix that balances the razor’s edge of black metal with modern clarity and sharp detail, Solfatare’s debut record is a pleasure to hear. In short, we’re off to a great start with all of the surface-level check boxes ticked.

On the songwriting front, many of Asservis par l’espoir’s best tracks showcase the genre at its finest, writhing with curled tremolo bends, serrated riff patterns, and immense momentum. Of those best tracks, “Du deuil affairé” rises as the cream of the crop. In this example—and in penultimate epic “Sous des cieux absents” at its midpoint—the particular progression of oscillating trem-picked phrases and slithering arpeggiated embellishments that Solfatare implement make a stunning sequence, memorable for its musicality and striking in its gnarled form. More melodious—though still corrupted by a twist of discordant harmony—offerings such as “D’hommes et d’isoptères” and “Ozymandias” take advantage of their position, setting up (in the former) and resolving (in the latter) those vicious riff-centered outbursts. In fulfilling those roles, they create a dynamic experience unified by a common sound and structure. A predictable result of these dynamics is that Asservis par l’espoir races through its 42-minute span so quickly that I feel obligated to spin it again, if for no other reason than to make sure I didn’t miss out on any other notable moments.

As strongly as I maintain that albums like these are easy to love, and even easier to spin both casually and with focused intent, the challenge remains to distinguish oneself from the greater pool of artists creating similar works. It is here that I am not convinced Solfatare fully matured yet. To call Asservis par l’espoir a competent record in the style would be a mild understatement. It’s a compelling record in its own right for a significant chunk of its runtime, and an enjoyable one for the rest. However, its back half entries don’t shine as brightly as the first half’s, and even those don’t stand out well against the wider set of the style. Closing duo “Sous des cieux absents” and “Quand ton cerveau te surine le crâne” don’t lag behind in overall songwriting consistency, but they lack flavor. All of the elements are there—layered tremolos, vomitous wretches, thunderous percussion, transformative transitions, the works—but the intangibles remain on the table, unable to help Solfatare establish a distinct identity in their chosen field at the most important juncture for them to do so. If at the end of the record I am this unconfident that I could pull the band out of a lineup, it’s clear something that was needed didn’t make it to the final product.

Still, listeners could do worse than Asservis par l’espoir. Boasting a ton of high-octane, easily enjoyable material, Solfatare’s debut does justice to its genre. However, it lacks a unique voice to help it stand above the crowd. It just so happens that that crowd is very good at what they do, and it’s become overpopulated. While that means Solfatare have to work to find that special thing that gives them a voice and a point of view, I look forward to hearing the result of that inevitable discovery.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Signal Rex
Websites: solfatare.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Solfatare
Releases Worldwide: May 2nd, 2025

#25 #2025 #AsservisParLEspoir #BelgianMetal #BlackMetal #May25 #Review #Reviews #SignalRex #Silhouette #Sofatare #SunWorship #Svartidauði #Vimur

Izrod – Sarajevski Odisej (Vinyl)

Serpentine melodies twist in and out of actually-tuneful dissonance, and the coiling violence surges with triumphant fire, all while almost-jazzy interludes dot the landscape with class and menace.

#blackmetal #vinyl #izrod #signalrex #Bosnia #underground

My dear friend came up with another EP. May the holy light of the Great Antagonist guide your steps, forever.

#MonsVeneris #BlackMetal #RawBlackMetal #Portugal #SignalRex

https://monsveneris.bandcamp.com/album/excesses-of-perpetual-gloom