L’Esprit du Clan : 25 Ans de Rage, de Scène et de Vérité

#hardcore #frenchmetal #lespritduclan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptAPfaVH4Ik

Well two things today.
The first is happy birthday Panem x Circences, released 2 years ago.
It is therefore also the rebirthday of BWWI.
That makes 3 then, there's something else later.

Buy the album. Please. I have a dozen cds left. Collector by 2056, guaranteed.
#grind #grindcore #frenchmetal

https://bornwithwormsinside.bandcamp.com/album/panem-x-circences

https://youtu.be/louaS-wj81c?si=_RbSeLlsTnQNwQLw
Fresh release from Catharsia
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Sortie toute fraîche de Catharsia

#rock #metal #music #musicvideo #symphonicmetal #blender3d #frenchmetal

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Gojira
Magma
Stranded

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Gojira+Magma+Stranded

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Gojira/_/Stranded

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Gojira-stranded-lyrics

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/60fUDmIWuKhngaeBIVhqIV

#Gojira #JoeDuplantier #MarioDuplantier #ChristianAndreu #JeanMarcLabadie #ProgressiveMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #PostMetal #EuropeanMetal #FrenchMetal #Metal2000s

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Gojira
From Mars to Sirius
Flying Whales

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Gojira+From%20Mars%20to%20Sirius+Flying%20Whales

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Gojira/_/Flying+Whales

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Gojira-flying-whales-lyrics

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/5OjCsHeByDYEGxMrb1z8KQ

#Gojira #JoeDuplanier #LouisDuplanier #ProgressiveMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #ExperimentalMetal #Metal2000s #Metal2010s #FrenchMetal #EuropeanMetal

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Gojira
Fortitude
Born for One Thing

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Gojira+Fortitude+Born%20for%20One%20Thing

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Gojira/_/Born+for+One+Thing

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Gojira-born-for-one-thing-lyrics

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/61GkJ0y15jxDyBrdcb6PqR

#Gojira #MathiasLeFur #JoeDuplantier #ChristianAndreu #ProgressiveMetal #DeathMetal #Djent #TechnicalMetal #Metal2010s #FrenchMetal

Back in 2004, an album called Fallout dropped from an unheralded little band called Slumber. It was a lush, gorgeous piece of melodic doom in the vein of early Katatonia, Rapture, and Insomnium, and there was something very special about the moods created within. It remains a beloved album of Yours Steely, and I often wonder why it isn’t better known. Slumber guitarist/songwriter Jari Lindholm would go on to start Enshine, and their Origin and Singulariuty albums took the Slumber aesthetic forward to new soundscapes. Singularity was my Album o’ the Year in 2015, and I still get dragged into its glorious depths at regular intervals. It’s been a long wait for a new Enshine opus as Jari puttered with his ExGenesis and self-titled projects, but word broke in December that a new Enshine was imminent. Elevation was dropped without much fanfare or advanced promo campaigns, so we had to get our greasy mitts on it the same way the filthy masses do. As with past Enshine efforts, Elevation finds Jari Lindholm teamed with Sébastien Pierre, and their classic sound is present, still sitting somewhere between melodoom and melancholic melodeath, and naturally, it’s beautifully rendered. But can it maintain the same high level as the earlier works?

Opener “Shimmering” suggests it can as you’re greeted by the expected cavalcade of opulent trilling leads with melancholic flourishes. Everything is highly polished and bright as the sun, with guitar and keyboards rising and swelling in melodic waves. The music reminds me of modern Insomnium and the mellower moments on Omnium Gatherum’s New World Shadows. Sébastien Pierre provides effective death metal roars that suit the music, and the pieces all fit together well. It’s not the best thing Enshine’s ever done, but it’s pretty damn good. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the opener is one of the most lively tracks on offer. “Heartbliss” has harsher vocals, but they’re wrapped up in a glossy pancake of airy, ethereal melodoom without much in the way of an actual “doom” component to ground things and provide real impact. Jari’s guitar work is ephemeral, stunning, and I could listen to it for days, but the song itself doesn’t stick in my memory. I enjoy it as it floats past, but cannot recall it thereafter. “Where the Sunrise is Felt” self-corrects, providing a beefier riffing foundation, and Sébastien sounds extra spicy here. You still get a deluge of ethereal noodling to float upon, but it’s balanced by some beef, and that makes a difference.

Just as things seem to be moving in the right direction, “Distant Glow” hits with 4 minutes of bright, sugar-coated synthwave devoid of vocals or the slightest edge. It’s moody but dull, and it derails the energy Elevation was beginning to establish. Around this point, it dawned on me that the album is something they could play at a new age spa without disrupting the tranquility or displacing anyone’s chakra. I suppose there’s a place for “spa-metal,” but not on my goddamn property. The remainder of Elevation is loaded with languid, lustrous melodoom with the emphasis on the melo part. I’m reminded of Omnium Gatherum and later era Anathema, and the ravishing sounds are omnipresent, but it’s often sleepy and overly restrained. Here and there, Sébastien or Jari lapses into a whispered delivery, and that choice sums up Elevation as well as anything: it’s dialed-back music designed to avoid any emotion beyond a sullen glaze-over. It’s gorgeous but without real peaks and valleys or much in the way of dramatic impact. Without memorable individual moments, it becomes too easy to lose focus while listening, and the music very quickly slips into the background. Not only does the material tend to sit in the back row of your attention, but the songs tend to bleed together into an ornate, noodly mush. Lovely but unmemorable.

I’m a huge fan of Jari Lindholm’s guitar work, and his brilliance is on display all over Elevation. He has a unique ability to craft such gorgeous and moody guitar lines and layer them in a way that generates a fog of emotion. While his talents are in force here, the end result is less immediate and dynamic than on past works. There’s no shortage of sumptuous leads and delicate solos, but the overall effect is too often lethargy rather than emotional pangs and pulses. A lot of Elevation simply washes over and past me without activating my memory circuits. Jari and Sébastien share vocals, and though Sébastien’s death roars are good, they don’t add as much pop to the material as they could. Sébastien also handles keyboards, and at times his playing becomes a touch cloying and even cheesy. Ultimately, I spend too much time waiting for Jari and/or Sébastien to go harder and provide more oomph to the proceedings, but they rarely do.

Elevation is a gorgeous listen, but there aren’t many songs that I recall once the album ends. It’s a worthwhile listen, and I doubt Enshine could make a bad album, but this really makes me want to spin Singularity or Origin instead. That’s a big bummer for me, and I hope your melo mileage varies. Now go find that Slumber album and learn!

Rating: 3.0/5.01
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: enshine.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/enshine.band
Releases Worldwide: January 3rd, 2026

Maddog

I can’t overstate Enshine’s impact on my music taste. As a teen, I enjoyed melodic death metal, but struggled with the genre’s doomier acts. One day, I stumbled upon Enshine’s 2013 debut Origin. Having never heard of Jari Lindholm’s landmark band Slumber, I came in with few expectations. Eschewing the nondescript riffs that I had come to expect from doom, Origin captivated me with its creative melodies, gigantic climaxes, and synth-laced atmosphere. Most importantly, it brought tears to my eyes. Singularity followed suit in 2015, dragging slightly but hitting hard nonetheless. While Lindholm has released other albums via Exgenesis and his solo work in the interim, Elevation breaks a decade-long silence for Enshine. While it can’t match my first wide-eyed listen through Origin, Elevation is a worthy companion to a sorrowful night.

Enshine has always made every instrument count. Rather than fading into the background, Giannis Koskinas’ (Ocean of Grief) bass steals the show with lively lead melodies (“The Moment”). Conversely, on tracks like “Where the Sunrise Is Felt,” the rhythm section supplies a simple but hefty backbone to steer the song along. Sébastien Pierre’s keyboard is as active as ever, providing both center-stage melodies and a canvas for the other instruments. It’s remarkable how well this works; indeed, the key-heavy instrumental “Distant Glow” is one of Elevation’s most haunting cuts. Pierre and Lindholm’s vocals are unremarkable but get the job done, and the vocal lines are perfectly timed to accentuate the album’s peaks. Of course, while each of these pieces is compelling, Elevation’s guitars are a masterclass. Serving up huge Insomnium riffs, tear-jerking melodies, and minimalist interludes, Lindholm’s guitar work is varied but consistently impressive. Rounded out by a rich tone, Elevation is a full-blown sonic tapestry.

Elevation by Enshine

Enshine’s best work excels in both its climaxes and the journeys between them. Enshine’s riffs are more enormous than ever, with “The Purity of Emptiness” showcasing some pounding specimens. The rhythm section accentuates this riffwork like a thundering heartbeat. Elevation’s melodic peaks are just as lofty, and an explosive guitar solo makes the opener “Shimmering” an early contender for song of the year. As always, Enshine knows when and how to dial it back. For instance, the opening melody of “Heartbliss” serves as a serene counterpoint to the song’s beefier moments, while the closer “Reignite” relieves tension through its sparse midsection. While Elevation often flits masterfully between these extremes, it sometimes fizzles out. The aforementioned “Heartbliss” and “Reignite,” the two longest tracks, both spend their last few minutes in forgettable melodic ramblings. More generally, the album’s back half often settles into a neutral middle ground that neither excites nor calms. Elevation sometimes loses its footing, but most of its runtime is a dexterous volley between aggression and tranquility.

Accordingly, Elevation packs a powerful but inconsistent emotional punch. The most conventional source is the album’s soaring melodies, like those on “Shimmering.” But Enshine’s heart often hides in unlikely spots. “The Moment” hypnotizes the listener with a simple guitar riff, transmutes it into a tragic behemoth, and culminates in rhythmic repetition that evokes Cult of Luna. The key-driven “Distant Glow” remains the album’s most unlikely triumph. By rooting itself in one bittersweet melodic motif, “Distant Glow” evolves seamlessly from a chamomile-infused Infected Mushroom trance to punchy melodeath riffs. The result is a four-minute track that feels like a lifetime, in the best possible way. In contrast, parts of Elevation feel clinical. Songs like “The Purity of Emptiness” rely on interchangeable mid-paced riffs that fade from memory, and even stronger tracks fall into the same age-old trap (“Where the Sunrise Is Felt”). Enshine hasn’t lost their secret sauce, but they have diluted it.

But even more so than usual, I’m an unreliable narrator trapped in the tiniest of prisons. My twelve years with Enshine both paint and taint my perspective. So yes, “Reignite” is Enshine’s worst closer; but that’s because I remember the months I leaned on “Apex” and the friendship I strengthened with “Constellation.” And yes, Elevation sometimes gets lost in meandering riffs; but that sticks out because Origin is the pinnacle of concise melodeath-doom. Enshine’s former glory offers a convenient template for critiquing its follow-ups. In truth, Elevation is an enchanting release from a band that I’d feared would never return. Whether you’re an Enshine addict, a curious first-timer, or even a non-metalhead, Elevation demands and earns your attention.



Rating: 3.5/5.02

Respost:
🗿 This is #Indicible Death metal from France. Get carried home on a stretcher.

🇫🇷 Nous sommes Indicible. Vient t'amuser, repart sur une civière 😝
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🎥 By: Sethpicturesmusic - Seth Abrikoos
Filmed at #CiteCarter Amiens
🗓️ 12/12/2025
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#metalmusic #metalband #metalconcert #metal #metalheads #frenchmetal #frenchmetalband #metalfest #metalfestival

Blut Aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons Review

By Alekhines Gun

Sometimes it’s all a question of perspective. Among the most prominent and influential of French black metal, the sometimes-solo-project-sometimes-three-piece entity known as Blut Aus Nord have manifested four or five entirely different versions of themselves over the last thirty(!) years. Occasionally, their albums are released in sets of connected sounds and themes, and other times you can be exposed to one idea you fall in love with, only for the band to pivot away into something new and unexpected; imagine the surprise fans of Fathers of the Icy Age must have felt first hearing The Work Which Transforms God. We are now at album sixteen (to say nothing of their innumerable splits and EP’s), and the question isn’t as much “is this gonna be any good” as much as “which band is showing up today?”

As it turns out, quite a few of them. The bones of Ethereal Horizons is laid via the post-metalisms of Hallucinogen, but with tones focused much more on a cosmic sense than the trippier 70s psychedelia of yore. The overall presentation of the album consists of lengthier riffs designed to evoke mood rather than raw noodling or blast-heavy assaults. Heavy emphasis is placed on a/b phrasing, which pairs two different ideas reminiscent of different eras in Blut Aus Nord’s career, but unifies them via the same sheen throughout. The organic production reigns supreme, using the beefy approach of the past two albums but firmly removing the Dis from the Harmonium with supremely melodic results.

Despite never abandoning that sense of the organic, occasional nods towards the Blut Aus Nord industrial sound makes their presence known. Riffs are longer and more repetitive across the release, sometimes dropping out into a drum-and-bass solo (“The Fall Opens the Sky”) and elsewhere having drummer W.D. Feld do a fantastic impression of the vintage drum machine (“Seclusion”). These bits are spiritually kin to 777 – Cosmosophy, using their drawn-out forms to emphasize the beauty found within while taking the listener through a plethora of emotions. The greater utilization of the properly melodic over the dissonant means that minor keys get to make their impact felt without losing the sense of harmony (“What Burns Now Listens”) with the focus placed more on hefty atmosphere rather than a collection of overly intricate riff-craft. Synth is layered throughout the album with tones pulled from the Memoria Vetusta series as well as some clips of nature and the occasional acoustic introductions and outros, tying everything together as an auditory voyage, where, in typical Blut Aus Nord fashion, the only way is forward.

Ethereal Horizons places the bulk of its weight in those atmospheres, with the writing clearly engineered to be absorbed as a whole body of work in one sitting as opposed to being tailored for playlist harvesting. This element is key, as some songwriting moments could be perceived as frustrating if taken individually. It’s rare to hear Blut Aus Nord place such emphasis on repeating motifs in their more organic work, and synth interlude “Twin Suns Reverie” can be perplexing on first listen. However, by tying together separate components of composition across their storied career into one cohesive whole, what emerges is an album larger than the sum of its parts. Mercurial shifts from nods to Disharmonium to 777 to Memoria Vetusta are aided by subtle shifts in guitar tones used from riff to riff. “The End Becomes Grace” is a key example, flinging a verse straight from the most triumphant moments of Saturnian Poetry fresh off a Hallucinogen lead, but suddenly the notes are darker, grittier, and far more properly blackened. Blut Aus Nord have had a rare moment of looking inward and backward to find a path onward, and offered up a prism with nods to their various colors, all filtered through the same jagged jewel of sound.

Like any good album by these French fiends, this might not be what everyone is hoping for. It certainly wasn’t for me. At first listen I found myself underwhelmed, then by the fourth, confused. But judging any Blut Aus Nord release on your own expectations is always going to be a fool’s errand. By mining the depth of their own past for inspiration, the band managed once again to turn their own familiarity on its head and forge a new destination to parts known only to them. Triumphantly melodic in sound yet hypnotic in scope, energetic enough to be heavy yet beautiful enough to be soothing, Ethereal Horizons is a journey of an album through beautiful cosmic pastures, and doubtless to still greater horrors beyond.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Mother heckin’ gosh darn stream
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: November 28th, 2025

#2025 #40 #blackMetal #blutAusNord #debemurMortiProductions #etherealHorizons #frenchMetal #nov25 #review #reviews

Aephanemer – Utopie [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

By Grin Reaper

Something about neoclassical instrumentation forged between the hammer and the anvil kindles the embers of my withered Reaper heart. Whether tasting northern comfort with Children of Bodom, basking in festering swamp songs with Kalmah, or unleashing hell with Norther, Finland has long asserted a stranglehold on melodeath of the symphonic persuasion.1 That is, until a modest French foursome threw down the gauntlet. I first encountered Aephanemer between Prokopton and A Dream of Wilderness, and it was love at first listen. Their classical flourishes seamlessly converge with aggressive riffing to develop complex layers of hook-infested earworms so inescapable that no prescription can rid me of their iron thrall. Four years after their last outing, Aephanemer returns with a mature interpretation of their signature sonic stamp.

Grabbing the reins to shepherd listeners to new frontiers of what melodic death metal can sound like, Aephanemer reemerges to show us the way to Utopie. Evolving the neoclassical components of platters past, Aephanemer fully realizes a stunning merger of melodeath and symphonic orchestrations.2 On Utopie, the band crafts an experience that sounds like it was written with classical composition as its basis rather than as a reservoir of embellishments. Earlier albums comprised songs with classical ingredients, but on Utopie, Aephanemer sculpts a singular work with movements and motifs that unfold through its fifty-one-minute runtime, giving the album a degree of unity and cohesion that is sometimes sought yet rarely achieved in modern music.

Where Utopie’s soundscape exudes consonance, its composition is structured in two halves. The front bears quicker, sticky numbers while the back embraces longer-form, sweeping arrangements. “Contrepoint” appropriately serves as the intermediary between each half, though the track itself conforms to the fore’s characteristics. “Le Cimetière Marin,” “La Règle du Jeu,” and “Par-delà le Mur des Siècles” fashion an opening trio of gluey tunes that flow harmoniously into one another, surprising me with how quickly those fifteen minutes pass every time I listen. The final triad of tracks encompass half the album’s runtime and deliver the soaring majesty of epics while maintaining momentum. Throughout, Aephanemer’s galloping rhythms, arpeggiated leads, and bubbly tom rolls (plus intermittent flute trills and orchestral strings) sustain a vital energy, providing a pervasive sense of kinesis and grandeur. Martin Hamiche’s guitar tone is buoyant and silky,3 the perfect counterpoint to Marion Bascoul’s harsh rasps. Mickaël Bonnevialle underpins Aephanemer’s bombast with flurries of fills and rolls, always in support of the overarching sound while occasionally commanding well-deserved spotlight. Even as a three-piece, the band performs as tightly as ever.

Utopie is the sound of a band with a vision so crisp and vivid that all you need to do is close your eyes to be whisked away to paradise. Aephanemer oozes jubilance and confidence, harnessing the successes of previous albums and honing them to an eager edge, sallying forth with nary a concern for detractors. In a year where melodeath claimed two of 2025’s Records o’ the Month (Aversed and In Mourning), plus saw releases from Amorphis, Buried Realm, Mors Principium Est, and Vittra, Utopie claims the top spot of the genre in my humble (but accurate) estimation. Aephanemer in 2025 best embodies the spirit and triumph of what symphonic melodeath can do, mustering a celebration of undeniable charm and panache. Go forth and embrace bliss. Go to Utopie.

Tracks to Check Out: “Le Cimetiére Marin,” “Contrepoint,” “La Rivière Souterraine,” “Utopie (Partie II)”

#2025 #aephanemer #amorphis #aversed #buriedRealm #childrenOfBodom #frenchMetal #inMourning #kalmah #melodeath #melodicDeathMetal #morsPrincipiumEst #napalmRecords #norther #symphonicMetal #thingsYouMightHaveMissed2025 #tymhm #utopie #vittra