Dysylum "Cosmogonie" Review

  

    Dysylumn's Cosmogonie is a cyclone of deeply-inspired depressive noise that has quickly become one of my favorites of the year.  

    There, I said it. Proclaiming that something is one's favorite 'x' is always a dangerous proposition when it comes to encountering new material, particularly when it comes to something as close to my cold, Grinchian heart as BLVCK METVL. It's hard to objectively put one album over another, particularly when listening to a wide range albums in a variety of styles in what could broadly be called 'extreme metal'.  That being said, after multiple listens of this three-cassette/triple LP(!) release from Signal Rex records, I'm happy to report that this thing fucking kills. It's titanic to be sure, weighing in at over 80 minutes, but in that time the French duo succeed in developing a truly unholy atmosphere in which nary a second is wasted; while it's no secret that I very much have a soft spot for the more blackened side of our generously fruitful 'underground' metal scene, I'd put these guys up there with the Watains, Deathspells, Paysage D'Hivers et al of prior years after hearing this album. Yes, gentlemen, it is that good. Divided in musical form (as in physical) into three more accessible wholes, Apparition, Dispersion and Extinction are each peppered throughout with some absolutely stellar instrumental and especially vocal work - black metal snarls, shrieks, chants and most salient of all, low growls - together make for a deeply varied /experience/.  I personally tend to not put too much weight on a vocal performance in my metal - mere preference, maybe from my regrettable upbringing, hearing too much hair metal growing up - nonetheless, by the end of{Cosmogenie}'s 'Apparition III' I was totally engrossed. The occasional use of throat singing and other more extended techniques really goes a long way to creating what feels like an impassioned performance rather than what normally amounts to mere accessory in this kind of music, a vestigial obligation carried over from the genre's roots. This French dude can bleat like a goat or shriek like a banshee in entirely convincing fashion without a hint of Silencer-style irony or camp, and I love him for it.  Notably, despite the occasional occurence of more traditional black metal style vocals, the primary focus is on the lows here, with shrieks more for affect than as the main driving musical force.   

    The instrumental interplay is, naturally, crucial to this album's success as well. The production is predictably reverby, cavernous and resonant, allowing for the typical wall-of-sound approach to black metal guitar to apply here. Higher tremelo-picked single-note minor riffs over repeating rhythm figures are common, as are more complex harmonized melodies accompanied with blast-beats; the songwriting hallmarks are all here, along with the occasional rhythm section break with that strange fuzzy-staccato bass tone recalling all of our favorite Burzum demos. Peep the long exordium to the climax in Dispersion II or the crunchy tritone stomp of Extinction's main riff, which leads nicely into a surprisingly slow and doomy denoument. The intro, outro and interlude are all atmosphere-enhancing to be sure, but merely serve as breathing room before or after 'taking the plunge' - on a full single-sitting listen of the record, I was almost relieved to hear the interlude. Other favorites include the strangely harmonious riff at the start of Extinction III and Dispersion II's riff in the second half. Echoing the sentiment of my previous Jupiterian review for Dysylumn here, the duo manages to ape a wide variety of influences and styles while incorporating them into a meaningful and unique atmosphere all their own. 

    This review might not be as full or comprehensive in breaking things down on an individual track basis as my previous ones, but I truly have nothing more to say. As their third full length and sixth record overall, Dysylumn should be proud of what they've managed to accomplish with this release, which willefinitely please any fan of the atmospheric ethos in black metal. Hell, even if black metal isn't your thing, but you're curious - dip a toe in here. The only bad things I can find to say about it are that it can be a little long to listen to in a single sitting, and that I can hear a little bit of string noise on the guitar riff at the start of Extinction III.  These are my very measured and well-thought-out complaints as a critic. But seriously, give this one a listen, I promise you'll love it. 

You can listen to Cosmogonie on Dysylum's bandcamp below and support Signla Rex here: 

https://signalrex.com/store/

-Eric