Band: Gravenoire
Album: Devant la Porte des Étoiles
Genre: Black Metal
Country: France
Label: Season of Mist
Released: August 23rd, 2024
Introduction
If you ask black metal fans today which scene (country) is among their favourites, you will most likely hear a lot of them mention France, and that’s for good reason. The French black metal scene has brought forth some very nice black metal bands like Gorgon, Anorexia Nervosa, Mütiilation, Death Spell Omega, the list goes on and on.
But now there is a new kid on the block. Gravenoire released their first EP on the 23rd of August this year. And I say new kid in black, the band may be new, but 3 of the 4 members have a long pedigree in the black metal band Bâ’a. The vocalist of Gravenoire isn’t an unknown in the scene either, as it’s RMS Hreidmarr, former vocalist of Anorexia Nervosa.
So it comes down to this, the collective maybe new but that doesn’t mean they are all seasoned veterans, simply under a new moniker, Gravenoire. So let’s dive into this EP and let’s see what they spawned forth.
Album: Devant la porte des étoiles
Given this knowledge, a new band but with seasoned members, you do get a bit of an expectation for the EP, and the question is: Do they deliver or not?
It being an EP it’s bound to be short, but it’s not as short as one could expect, the total runtime is 25 minutes, it contains 6 tracks, with the first one being an instrumental track and the last one being an instrumental/spoken outro track. But what I can ensure you of already, in this ‘short’ time span, they do deliver.
- Pavens
- France de l’ombre
- Ordo Opera Cultura
- Aux chiens
- Granit
- Gravenoire
On the first track of the album, as said, is an instrumental track, that builds up the atmosphere for what’s about to be unleashed on the second track; France de l’ombre starts of with a blast. The vocals of RMS are one of my favorites in the scene and to this day, he still delivers the ungodly goods. The scream at the start of the track hits me deep, bone and marrow shattering stuff, it’s just that icy.
The sound of the drums are a high note as well (that goes for all the drumming on the EP). The one responsible for those is Asmyrdhen de Scythe, and he’s the drummer of Bâ’a which is also a favorite band of mine.
Another track worth mention is the fourth track, Aux Chiens. This has a perfect combination of vocals and drums, they are mixed great and the tempo of the song just keeps you going. If this were preformed live, you would have a hard time keeping that neck still, it just begs to headbanged along to (I would reccomend to bring your neckbrace if you’re my age).
In fact, this headbanging notion goes for the entire EP, to be honest. I could keep writing about it, but in all fairness, just give it a change, and I’m sure you will like it. That brings us to the…
Conclusion
Gravenoire might be a new band, but the members themselves are not and it clearly shows. The entire album from start to finish gives you the idea that they damn well known what they are doing. This isn’t a band that’s spawned by some basement dwelling teen. This is a solid start for the band, and I’m eagerly looking forward to what the future will hold for them and my sore neck.
BMZ Rating: 8 – Very Good: An impressive album that rises above many others. It features innovative ideas, captivating lyrics, or excellent musicianship that makes it stand out.
Your thoughts on: Devant la porte des étoiles by Gravenoire
You can support the band here: https://gravenoireofficial.bandcamp.com/album/devant-la-porte-des-etoiles
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