Released on: 27th July 2018
There was a hint of something in the air as the wind excitedly rattled with ageless glee. It alluded to a substance hotter than the sun and at its core was similarly just as dense. The hint soon became a flare; a shooting light hurtling in accordance to the azimuth of earth. It was Atmospheric Black Metal. And sometimes if you stare towards space, even just for a moment, the temporal flux it created can cause you an epiphany.
Bonjour Tristesse is more than a satellite to Germanys’ wonderful Heretoir or King Apathy, who you may be more familiar with as Thränenkind, as Bonjour Tristesse is the pet project of Nathaniel a.k.a. Matthias – the main lyricist of King Apathy.
Your Ultimate Urban Nightmare transcends the simple notion of atmospheric black metal. So let us disregard the whole airborne black metal schtick. Because it really– really surpasses the insinuations of the genre. Moving past the label constraints and setting itself beyond earthly orbit let alone classification.
It is quite simply a brilliant and thought provoking album.
Just so you know Bonjour Tristesse have the dumbest track title ov ever with Another Bullshit Night In Suck City. And if that is what qualifies as sociocritical lyricism then consider it a colourful truth painted in honesty. Which is a concurrent theme on this release as Bonjour Tristesse turn passion into conviction, and expression into meaning. There is much depth running beneath the score behind Your Ultimate Urban Nightmare and this has much to do with the integrity of the sonal form.
Your Ultimate Urban Nightmare keeps it easy while consistently evolving into gut wrenching melodies that distort through sheer volume. It is a loud and unabashedly harsh album. Working a sonal landscapes toiling for the most exquisite riffs to head bang on. As such there is a touch of prog rock in there and it blends meticulously with the focus on tremolo picking, and glorious blast beats. Making this a blindingly delightful nightmare filled with emphatic release.
9/10
