ALBUM REVIEW: Couvre-sang – DDENT
French post-metal project DDENT release their new record Couvre-sang. Written and performed entirely by multi-instrumentalist Louis Lambert, this third album delves into dark places and strange new ideas in the philosophical world, of which this instrumental record attempts to convey an entire lifespan of cognitive urges and desires to create and ultimately find melancholy meaning.
II is a soaring intro that takes it’s time over the ninety of so seconds it rise up in organ style waves of sound. It’s almost disjointed, somewhere between chaotic fair ground music or something holier. As the track seems to skip and find its feet again, we begin our first full track.
SONGE in its infant moments is droning and desolate. However, in its prime it bursts out in mountainous high-powered trudges as rumbling basslines growl beneath. The movement itself is overpowering, as the drums move from paced to unrelenting. Everything feels so compact and close, so loud and unpredictable, you’re unsure if you feel a weight of melancholy, or a soar of hope. Either way, it’s powerfully engaging and uniquely striking. It’s middle definitely benefits from a lessening of the intense wall of sound, and allows more dynamics to be appreciated throughout. An odd section towards the end pushes the mix in strange places, and while you’re listening through to see where the coherency will return, it’s not necessarily the best decision to allow something become so messy rather than intentionally overwhelming.
VOLEMIE has a very low fi drum machine beat to pull you down into a more comfortable level of listening, as the dichotomy of major minor melodies subtly drifts up and down. The smack of the high hat every so often makes for a very impactful reminder of tempo as the more menacing rumble of guitars and bass gradually make themselves known and eventually threaten to engulf the entire track. It’ much more deftly done here, with a great sense of ambience and shoe gaze without compromising melody or emotional ferocity. YYYYYYYYY is as odd as an interlude might get. It’s like rippling tape, fluttering, rewinding, skipping and jumping. There’s a strange sense of mono-sound to it, that things have been compressed and the coherency deliberately tampered with. You’ll be engaged, no question, as DDENT are experimenting with some very unique soundscapes. Thankfully it’s not too long as to become annoying and brings us into PUISSANCEREVEE.
PUISSANCEREVEE does what SONGE did before it; it is battering and monstrously gigantic, hitting sky-scraping hights and mercilessly crashing back down. Things become almost industrial in the midsection as the breakdown into a nasty, awe inspiring beating drops and drops into a stomping place of malintent. This is wonderfully pessimistic post metal at it’s most glorious. The static is kinetic in the air as the track climaxes- if you’re not entranced by Couvre-sang by this point, there’s no hope for you.
SOUVENIRSDEMATIERES materialises as a padding beats that slap like organic claps and morph into drum skin flams and booming snares and toms. The melody grows without you really being aware of it. it feels the most optimistic thing in DDENT’s repertoire, and does wonders for Couvre-sang by being a little less heavy on the soul. The movements between more contained warbling echoes that jangle to massive reverberating guitars is mental. It’s a staggering effort, and once again demonstrates the utterly huge sound DDENT can create. The optimism and tiny spikes into something a little more minor give this a scale and sense of wonder that is cinematic, to a size that it impacts like the score of Interstellar. It’s easy to imagine the infinity of everything with this beast pressuring into your ears.
DDENT really seem to enjoy locking a letter key and allowing it to just run for these song titles. OOOOOOOOOOOOO is another rewinding, reversing interlude that feels like if black metal was played backwards. VIDESDECHOS has the same energy as it’s interlude. It’s heavy and stoic, unafraid to take it’s time and really seep into more droning tones once more. There’s still a massive sense of emotion, static and deep loneliness, tirades of tragedy throughout. It’s ending moments, wherein a trumpet section seems to take the reins, is a lovely section but feels really out of place on this record.
At this late stage in the record, DDENT have allowed themselves a little breathing space to makes something with just as much emotional undertones, LIEDEVIN rises for it’s first third with more reserve and time to breath. It maintains the post metal attitude and tone of the rest of the album, but feels more into spacious than the early tracks, where things can mellow and then surge with a little less immediacy. The intention to eventually bear down upon you still remains, but only really does so in the final third, showing some range in DDENT’s ideas.
VOILE morphs over LIEDEVIN with a real flare for drama in the doom direction. Its extremely dark and pulls on the much more menacing ideas that have been explored before. Fuzzy, mean and ill-minded, it’s lushly cavernous. DDENT may have stayed into a more traditionally metal genre for the majority of this track, but the tone and melody make it feel like this thick, heavy ending was the culmination of all the work that came before. Creepy synth guitars slide over big chugging chords, which eventually pulls everything in a new direction and brings a new layer of emotion to the overall track. It ends in a strange dreamlike fanfare- gone are the huge moments of crippling walls of sound, here we move into our final moments. V sounds just as rewound as all the other interludes, but more resoundingly positive and reassuringly devoid of sadness.
DDENT have proven once again there’s more innovation in the post-metal world than meandering drones and washed out guitars. Couvre-sang plays with styles and genres, tempos and ideas from all angles. While the exploration of some heavy themes is apparent in the music, sometimes these ideas don’t best serve the tracks. However, this is a beautiful and captivating journey into a very dense and thematic musical landscape.
Rating: 7/10
Like Couvre-sang is out now via Chien Noir.
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