THE BEAST

Label: Season of Mist: Underground Activists
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Country: France
Genre: Black Metal

GRAVENOIRE emerges from the French black metal scene with their debut album "Devant La Porte Des Étoiles," slated for release on August 23, 2024. Formed in early 2022, the band consists of an impressive lineup of black metal veterans: Maximilien Brigliadori (BÂ'A, Diablation, former Hyrgal), Emmanuel Zuccaro (BÂ'A, Verfallen, former Hyrgal), Vicomte Vampyr Arkames (Diablation, former Seth / Ad-Inferna), and RMS Hreidmarr (Glaciation, BÂ'A, former Anorexia Nervosa / The CNK).

The album's production is as raw as its vision, recorded live during rehearsals with no tracking, no triggers, no click tracks—just pure, unfiltered black metal. This approach not only reflects the band's dedication to an uncompromising 90s black metal ethos but also emphasizes a commitment to authenticity and spontaneity. GRAVENOIRE’s music serves as a portal to other dimensions, both cosmic and earthly, drawing heavily from their native lands and mystical traditions.

"Devant La Porte Des Étoiles" opens with "Pavens," a brief but haunting introduction that sets the tone for the album's atmospheric journey. The second track, "France de l'Ombre," is a standout, delivering a potent mix of ferocious riffs and haunting melodies that capture the band's deep connection to their roots. The lyrics, delivered with visceral intensity by vocalists Vicomte Vampyr Arkames and RMS Hreidmarr, explore themes of cosmic architecture and primordial forces, blending the mystical with the raw.

"Ordo Opera Cultura" follows, offering a relentless assault of black metal fury, while "Aux Chiens" brings a slightly more measured but no less intense experience. The track "Granit" stands out for its dense, granite-like sound, solidifying the band's signature style. The album closes with the eponymous track "Gravenoire," which encapsulates the band's ethos of blending harsh, unyielding soundscapes with an underlying sense of the sacred and the mystical.

With a total runtime of just over 25 minutes, "Devant La Porte Des Étoiles" is a concentrated dose of black metal mastery, offering listeners a glimpse into the band's stark, uncompromising vision. The production, handled by the band themselves and mixed and mastered by Arnaud Ménard at Sicarius Productions, ensures that every raw edge and unrefined moment is preserved, adding to the album's authenticity.

The cover art, created by Aude Sine, complements the music's dark and mystical themes, providing a visual entry point into GRAVENOIRE's world. The photography by Aude Sine, Nel Walden, and the band further captures the essence of their raw, primal aesthetic.

GRAVENOIRE's "Devant La Porte Des Étoiles" is a formidable debut that doesn't just pay homage to the 90s black metal scene but also carves out its own distinct place within the genre. For fans of raw, unpolished black metal that delves deep into cosmic and earthly mysticism, this album is a must-listen. As the cosmos is a revolving door, so too is this album a gateway into the endless possibilities of GRAVENOIRE's evolving sound.