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, NĂ©ant, is just that and actually, it’s a fairly substantial piece.
Opener Quitter ceux qui Ă©taient dĂ©jĂ 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’Ă©clipser 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 nĂ©ant, 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, NĂ©ant 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
