SOMBRES FORÊTS - La mort du soleil (2013)

Genre: Métal noir québécois

Label: Sepulchral Productions

Rating: 8/10

Sombres Forêts are musically one of the most talented bands on the planet, given that it's a one man band. Mainman Annatar plays all instruments, including organic drums.

Track 1, "Des épaves," is a beautiful, moving acoustic piece until about 3:05 when reversed clips are played over synthesiser for about a minute, when the acoustic comes back in.

Track 2, "Étrangleurs de soleils," starts with a thunderstorm, simple drumbeat, and a guitar with reverse delay on it kicks in. At roughly 1:20, the vocals start, along with uneffected guitar. It is a beautifully dour verse riff, the bass being masterfully melancholic. At about the 4 minute mark, acoustic guitar takes over while the drums build up beneath them, and distant screams can be heard in the background, then the drums stop, and it's just acoustic guitar with bass for about 10 seconds when the distorted guitars come back in. At about 7:00, the drums come in hard, with the crash being bashed on repeatedly, and then perhaps switching to the ride until the end of the song.

"Brumes," starts off ambient. The guitars come in with a wonderfully emotive riff; the chorus is no less emotive. After a short second verse comes a third section, more heavily distorted guitars, equally effective. At 4:15 is an incredible riff, with a great bassline supporting it. Drumming on this album is notably fantastic.

"Au flambeau" begins with reverbed piano/keys. Waves of distorted guitar break in over it periodically. Then the vocals come, followed soon thereafter by regular distorted electric guitar chords, with a layer of arpeggiated acoustic beneath it. Then it all fades except for the bass and the piano. At about 3:30 the guitars come loudly back into the fold, but not for long, before it fades into another quiet section. Eventually they do come back in for longer, and basically play until the end.

"L'Éther" has perhaps the best bass on the album, in terms of how interesting it is and how tasteful the lines are. My favourite bass riff from this song occurs at about 3:00. If I've noticed one thing, it is that it's difficult to hear the low-end on the guitar on this recording.

"La disparition," song six... the music is beautiful, and very well played. The vocals are the highlight, desperate and pained sounding. For some reason, this song quickly becomes “background music,” so to speak. Nothing stands out to draw your attention in. Still, a great song.

Finally, we come to "Effondrement." It starts off with the same reverse clips of guitar and drums as is in track one. It cuts to piano, which plays a lovely part. The entire song is in fact piano.

I can recommend purchasing this album. It is very deep, and requires multiple listens to get everything, but if you're willing to dedicate the time, you'll be in love. It is only available on CD for right now, available here. In my opinion, this album outdoes all of his work except Miserere Luminis by quite a bit.