The French group Mourir deliver a rabid black metal onslaught on their debut album Animal Bouffe Animal, which is available now via Throatruiner Records. The band have infused the grimly triumphant forward march of classically frigid black metal with the contorted and frequently psychologically upending chaos of frenetic and fiercely pummeling hardcore, developing a ravenous sonic beast. Mourir’s music feels like a perusal of the devastation left behind by some unseen but devastating attacking force; the darting rhythms throughout Animal Bouffe Animal feel like, perhaps, efforts to escape this calamity with a speedy getaway through an ominously darkened forest.
From the early parts of track one, Mourir — which was founded by Plebeian Grandstand’s bassist Olivier L. — establish a kind of menacing, grinding barrage with the grim persistence of a tank, punctuating their blast beats with shredding guitar riffing that feels like a musical portrait of a swinging buzz saw.
The band progress through a grippingly dramatic range of dynamics. Track two begins with a fiercely pummeling hailstorm of blast beats before devolving into what feels like the sonic equivalent of a chill-inducing, quivering cloud from which unseen but dangerous animalistic forces plot an attack. The vocals themselves frequently sound like they’ve conveying that beastly ferocity; with a merciless, venomous roar, they rip across this creation, occasionally devolving into a more chaotic uneasiness themselves, just like the streaking guitars and waves of sledgehammer drum hits. Track five — the last before the closer — features essentially entirely anxiety-inducing, swirling storms of feedback, while the lengthy title track closes this ferocity with a gradual build into insistently more intense melody that feels like cracking into some kind of hidden, wondrous expanse after a desperately lurched dash through a teeming forest, to continue with the previous metaphor.
Mourir feel like they’ve found a real palpable thrill amidst these storms. The music ultimately packs an absolutely roaring amount of energy that’s been captured and funneled into the barely contained experience of Animal Bouffe Animal, which hits incredibly hard. It’s like a thrilling wake-up-inducing jolt to the arm as Mourir quickly prove excitingly menacing and rippingly intense as if the band members are personally tearing apart previous notions of security that might have been already outdated anyway.
5/5 Stars
Check out the music below!
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