Band: Ethyl
Album: Deuil Vert
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Canada
Label: independent
Released: September 20th, 2026
Introduction
The third album of this one-man project from Sept-Îles in Quebec, Canada comes with a deep dive into a troubled mind, reflections on death, more intricate soundscapes and very competent black metal compositions.
Deuil Vert (Green Mourning)
Tracklist:
- Antecosmos - 05:47
- Chanson à boire (Drinking Song) - 04:38
- Deuil vert (Green Mourning) - 07:30
- Interrègne (Interregnum) - 03:58
- Mon insomnie (My Insomnia) - 06:55
- Sevrage (Withdrawal) - 10:14
You know when an album starts exactly the way you imagined it would? That was my first experience with this album.
The first track, Antecosmos, starts with the guitars, the dissonant resonating arpeggios and the shrieks, drenched in despair and a will of escaping the crushing nothingness mentioned in the lyrics, which by the way, are all works of art themselves and, when combined with the whole soundscape created by the guitars, the melodies, the slow primitive drumming, do pass on this overwhelming feeling of being subject to a chaotic reality in which you have no options, but to endure it. And as the lyrics move on to the speaker bringing on cosmic order to a spiritual ascendancy, the composition follows these feelings, becoming more hopeful, and doing a little bit of a synaesthetic comment, the music opens in a flash of light, as if you’re opening your eyes to light after a long period of darkness. Also, the lyrics contain a huge citation of Baudelaire, more specifically, the poem Élévation.
Second song, Chanson à boire (Drinking Song), starts in a more bouncy, catchy sort of black metal flavour, the kind of flavour you expect from Kampfar, Windir, or similar bands, with a melody that really sticks. Being a polar opposite to the previous song, this one goes on about drinking as a form of freedom from restraint, seriousness, social pretension, and obsessive thought. The drink here becomes almost a philosophical tool, a way of rejecting excessive contemplation and choosing to simply live in the moment. Whatever is happening outside, you drink, live, laugh. Musically, the composition follows that, it is catchy and fast-paced but not aggressive, almost like sitting inside a warm tavern while it snows outside. There is a lot of value in composing a song like this, especially in the sections where the guitars become the protagonist, with resounding tremolo picking over fast drumming. Those moments create that feeling of “that’s a neat black metal composition,” where the riffs themselves are enough to carry the song and make it memorable. Easily my favourite song of the album.
Next, we get the title track, Deuil vert (Green Mourning). This track gave me a sense of continuation, expanding on the sound the previous tracks had built, being upbeat but this time in a raspier, harsher way that matches the lyrics completely. The lyrics, in a very oversimplified way, are about someone descending into despair and substance abuse, told from the narrator’s point of view. They also use the colour green as a strong and recurrent theme, representing a variety of things, from a certain relief found in nature to something more sickly and decayed. It gives the whole song a very atmospheric quality, with the soundscapes matching the narrative, especially through the drums, which seem to direct the listener, whether through slow, primitive drumming or faster passages that add heaviness to what is being said.
The next song, Interrègne, is almost a continuation to the previous song, lyrically. Musically, it’s a shorter song, with a long intro that I repeated quite a few times. Guitars resounding, metallic, contrasting with one another, dissonant at times and melodic in others, as the drums slowly rise and bring the vocals with it. Here, the vocals have a strong presence, being heard through the mix as if in a concealed space, that adds a small echo to it, a lovely mixing choice. The lyrics go almost like a finishing act for Deuil Vert, they are about, roughly, leaving behind a morbid, stagnant period as light returns, exposing the death, decay, and ruins that the darkness had concealed.
Leaving Interrègne, we get to Mon insomnie (My Insomnia), the next track, which surprised me in a very positive way. While being about contemplating cemeteries, death itself, and those who have passed, the composition is a perfect mix of aggression, contemplation, and the typical black metal coldness, which once again is a rather synaesthetic kind of comment to make, but I hope everyone can understand what I mean.
The song goes from a slow guitar, resounding some chords and gradually adding a layer of tremolo picking and bass, before landing on a wall of sound: drumming, a chaotic but atmospheric soundscape, like watching a heavy storm through your window. Some parts slow the tempo down even further, but add a melody that permeates the whole thing, one of contemplation rather than aggression. The aggression comes from a very traditional sort of black metal passage, with all the “boxes ticked”: tremolo, repeating drums, some dissonance, and shrieks mixed in as part of the composition, almost as if the harsh vocals were being used as yet another instrument. Once the vocals stop, we get a sort of chaotic solo, with tappings and delays reverbs and more, which genuinely caught me off-guard, but was more than welcome. The song ends shortly after, fading into silence as we reach the last song.
Sevrage (Withdrawal), the last song, is a ten-minute-long epic, which feels perfectly placed. It’s about death, but not that simply: it’s about death as rest, for someone who’s already at their limit, to the point where the narrator sees darkness and death not with dread, but as a way to finally rest. The composition follows this idea. It’s a more contemplative song, with the soundscape being repetitive, almost acting as a background to the lyrics, which go on about darkness becoming something physical, sleep deprivation, and more. The vocals carry this heavy weight of tiredness throughout the song, and the composition does gain some extra layers toward the end, creating a sense of finality and conclusion, which reflects the final verse perfectly: “refreshing darkness”.
Conclusion:
Do I have a soft spot for Quebecoì black metal? Yes I do. Is this a great album no matter where it came from? Hell yes. Ethyl is one of my favourite projects to follow. I already loved both De plaisirs noirs et mornes and In Vino Veritas, but this album brought it all to a new level. Compositions and lyrics going perfectly together, more intricate melodies, songs that tickled my synaesthesia and memorable songs. A great black metal album, that’s 100% worth a spin to any fan of the genre.
BZM Rating: 8.5/10.
sashavonkarl74
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