ALBUM REVIEW: L’abime Dévore Les Âmes – Viande
Cavernous. Fathomless. Claustrophobic. Malignant. Any of these terms on their own conjures up darkness, evil and a sense of oppression and being watched, or that there is some malevolent entity lurking in the depths. They also neatly sum up the debut album from French death metallers VIANDE, titled L’abime Dévore Les Âmes (which roughly translates to “the abyss devours souls”). As far as titles go, it’s particularly apt for their brand of death metal that draws from the cacophony of PORTAL and the murkiness of DEAD CONGREGATION, amongst others.
From the outset, the album is drenched in atmosphere. Opener Les Dents Du Gouffre (the teeth of the abyss) channels that chasmic feeling with samples akin to the howling of the wind in a deep, dark cave before slow, churning riffs make themselves known. The drumming is purposeful rather than lethargic, driving a deep sense of malevolence that’s carried on through the cavernous vocals that sound just as abyssal. This isn’t the caveman riff filled splatterfest that often characterises death metal, nor is it the more tongue-in-cheek approach adopted by other modern bands. Instead it channels something much more primordial and primitive.
La Ventre Monde continues in this vein, sprinkling in some blasts for variation; while it is oppressive, it’s never stagnant and there’s a consistent sense of sickening motion. La Tombe Avide veers away from slower territory and keeps a faster pace throughout, before it collapses in skittering samples and Miroir Decharne comes in with almost ritualistic cries. VIANDE conjure blasted hellscapes, beasts ripped straight from abyssal nightmares, and every note, gurgle and drum hit oozes with hatred and malice.
Where L’abime Dévore Les Âmes sets itself apart from other dissonant death metal albums is that it steers away from relying mainly on its dissonance. Instead, VIANDE often utilise more straightforward ideas, such as the opening guitar riff to Le Souffle Des Os which is dangerously close to catchy. On the other side of that, the use of atmospheric elements, such as the opening Les Dents Du Gouffre or the shamanic war drum of Traitre A La Vie, as well as the almost howling wind voices that run through it, show a band with a strong understanding of how to craft not just memorable songs, but affecting ones too. Traitre A La Vie is the best example of this throughout, with dissonant guitars, sometimes arrhythmic drums and howling vocals, as well as moments where all bar the drums and samples drop out.
The malevolence in L’abime Dévore Les Âmes seeps out of every pore; it’s steeped in Lovecraftian horror, conjuring visions of unnamed terrors lurking in the abyssal depths just waiting – waiting! – for someone to step foot in their domain. Torturous, harrowing and through it all, strangely cathartic, VIANDE’s debut relishes in the darkness it brings to bear and the crushing, oppressive atmosphere it conjures.
Rating: 7/10
L’abime Dévore Les Âmes is set for release on April 15th via Transcending Obscurity Records.
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