Awash in greying colour and weighted with the gestation of transcendental insight our protagonist’s limbic-charged aurora comes hailing back down to terra firmæ, rallied by the thrill of the fall yet increasingly tormented by the sight of the gaping bárathron below. Expressing disillusionment with the circuitous horrors of existence, the raging delusions of an all-too malleable human zeitgeist and choosing to channel their own fortitudes via generational bonds Normandy, France-based black metal duo CÉNOTAPHE return drenched in gleaming afterbirth for a surreal yet earthly second full-length album. Even more harried in their primally wizened melodious hand these folks’ve long-spun ‘Chimères‘ to reflect what one passes on within the ephemera of existence while making room to harshly evaluate the utopian illusions of the masses. In balance of both symbolist and romanticist ideals their work once again stuns via its resplendent yet sophisticated motioning, thoughts set against the dementia of all hordes which yet sting in mind as continued personal reinforcement.

Cénotaphe formed a full decade ago by way of the many-armed talents of Fog (Norman Shores, ex-Angmar, et al.) and vocalist/lyricist Khaosgott (Frozen Graves) both of whom had featured in the earlier demo-era of Nécropole prior. And so their collective fossoyeur went on digging at their own ideal within what many consider the melody rich “Franco-Finnish” black metal ideation, though we find both broader and highly specific style gleaned from their personal tastes. In review of their debut full-length album (‘Monte Verità‘, 2020) I’d found nothing but the highest inspiration that year, an album that was not only praiseworthy but doomed to end up at #6 on my Top 100 Albums of 2020 as an enduring favorite to this day. There isn’t an exactly right fitting comparison to be made here but fans of Forteresse and Aorlhac will appreciate both the atmosphere and brilliantly crafted melodic voice of Fog‘s guitar work at face value. From my point of view accessing both the broader underground French black metal ideal and understanding the resonance of ‘Monte Verità‘ will provide the most appropriate context for the ride through ‘Chimères‘.

In reaching for the impossible ideal of enlightenment while persisting in the face of a lifetime of trials in order to reach the “summit” and achieve the satiation available to truth (i.e. knowledge, wisdom of the self and surroundings) is the suggested transcendental revelation of ‘Monte Verità‘ in a cock-eyed nutshell. Where else could Cénotaphe hurl us back from that point but downward to focus upon the wild dreams of men, the mythical ideation of folks and how these chimære, or, abstractions of reality inform generations for better or worse. This is the prompt which best matches the middle-of-life trenched yearn of ‘Chimères‘ from my perspective even if the thought might broaden and take on different purpose throughout these seven finely detailed melodic black metal pieces. Their work yet reflects years worth of contemplation for their note-for-note form, expression and subject matter alike.

Shining with celestial dust upon return opener “Sempiternel Retour” greets us with the beat of a war drum and a motif first outlined in slowed keyboard/synth, soon breaking away to expand that melodic prompt within Cénotaphe‘s dual-rhythmic guitar shot muse. The ice of the keys returns to pierce and accompany the piece later on, serving the first of many points where the band’s use of surreal synth tones braces key movements throughout the length of ‘Chimères‘. The tone of this opener is majestic in loft yet tragedian in its descent wherein the battery of the drums offers a a leathered throttle yet the bass guitar rings through the gusts of swelling guitars as a searching element, a lingering thought teeming beneath the force of the band’s urgent rhythms. Production values applied here allow equidistant spacing for rhythm guitar impact, snare and vocals by default though any one element may rise to prominence for effect via some additional layers. This is be best tested within the sweeping riff-driven rush of “Titans” both in its first half and the bounding chivalric stamping which hits beyond ~3 minutes in or so. There are chorales to account for later on, too, as this well-set standout piece helps to introduce the album’s refined shape while still reflecting a taste for pure black metal sound design.

The depth which ‘Chimères‘ offers in term of immersive value, the point where it all locks in most readily, arrives around the album’s ~mid-point, somewhere between the howling desperation of “Sous les fourches manichéennes” and the cataclysmic majesty of “Le carnage des chimères”. The former is one of the overall most striking on offer here (save the closer “Dans la poix des barathres”) and is sure to catch the ear with its braying gallop into battlement and the impressive range of vocal expression used throughout. The latter is, to my ear, evocative of mid-90’s pagan black metal in its first half and takes a more characteristic melodic turn at its midpoint, hammering on through that thought and even going as far as to march past the shore ’til fading into the ocean beyond.

The melodic and atmospheric black metal obsessed portion of my brain has already been well stoked by ‘Chimères‘ up until this point though the crest of the wave and the highest point of fixation comes in the midst the final two pieces on the album. All along this path Cénotaphe‘s statement has intensified its dramatic waft ’til the flooding rush of “L’île de rien” presents the high gloria of the experience in terms of atmospheric development landing in its place via a longer piece. There are far more densely set and evocative songs which precede this point yet it manifests as a destination on the running order, a thought more completely taken to its endpoint. Still, the song that stuck with me longest and remains seated in skull comes via the aforementioned closer “Dans la poix des barathres” and its intensity, a miserable yet charged ride out worthy of the sky-collapsing entrance that’d kicked things off.

In following up an album which I’ve long considered an ideal within the searching, by nature imperfect harass of black metal there was yet no real weight of expectation applied to my time with ‘Chimères‘, perhaps for the sake of the duo treating this long-considered work as a tangent torn from the same cloth but from a different perspective. The thoughtful development of this album is evident via Cénotaphe‘s performances, the deeper layering of melodic device, and certainly the meaning ascribed to their work to the point of absolute finesse in a black metal context. What sets this experience over the edge beyond impressive function unto infamy boils down to inspiration beyond typified familiarity, a work which raises the blood’s pressure and sends the mind soaring in mime of its voice. A very high recommendation.

---