It could be argued that a release consisting of three tracks is a little short to refer to as an album, but the latest offering from Finnish black metallers Atrum Tempestas, Néant, is just that and actually, it’s a fairly substantial piece.
Opener Quitter ceux qui étaient déjà partis is the lengthiest of the three and although it does get a little repetitive at times, with it almost feeling like Atrum Tempestas are padding for time, it’s a good start to proceedings. The softer and slower sections divide the track up nicely between the noise and aggression, and the ending is effective, slowly fading away into nothingness.
S’éclipser picks up the pace with a striking introduction complete with spoken words over the top, and then things progress well from there, almost taking a doomier approach at times and including a good amount of melody.
Things end on a high with Et après… le néant, which features an absolutely stunning vocal performance, with a lot of power and meat behind them throughout – and it even includes a section of clean vocals. It really gives the song that extra sparkle and helps to make it a track to remember – which is perhaps the best way for an album to end!
As a whole, Néant is a good listen. There are times where there’s room for improvement, and it does feel like the opener could benefit from a few minutes being shaved off, but the high points definitely make up for it.
7/10
