bio - RELEASES - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS
- Country of origin:France
- Location:Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Status:Active
- Formed in:2011
- Genre:Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal
- Lyrical themes:Spirituality, Left-Hand Path, Sexuality, Occultism, Antinomianism
- Current label:Tenebrae Productions
- Years active:2011-present
-
An uneven split effort that doesn't ascend - 65%
NausikaDalazBlindaz, March 13th, 2017
Neige et Noirceur and Daughters of Sophia don't have a lot in common so the fact that they share space on this release was enough to fix my attention. About the only thing the two acts share is that each features one multi-instrumentalist member - but then, so do so many other bands. DoS is an atmospheric BM / post-metal band interested in spirituality and transcendence whereas NeN is an ambient BM project with an experimental drone side and an interest in Quebecois history and the history of World War I so listeners familiar with both acts might expect plenty of contrasts, musically and lyrically, between the two.
Each act offers two songs, one long song followed by one short one. NeN gives a varied and often beautiful piece combining plenty of atmospherics, subtle acoustic melody, a subdued mood and raw biting yet still tuneful BM in the aptly named "Automne Astral". The sense of a radiant golden summer gone, to be replaced by freezing blizzard winter ferocity, and the foreboding and emotion associated with the transition, are strong. Distinct melodies and riffs along with a sharp raw sound power the song for most of its journey until the music lapses into a gentle conclusion, still repeating the dominant music motifs as if trying to capture the memory of what was once vibrant and energetic but is now extinct. "Hiver 1898", recalling the severe Canadian winter of that year is a mostly quiet footnote, interesting mainly for the use of synthesiser atmospheric effects and the stern uncompromising drone that finishes off the song.
The contributions by French act Daughters of Sophia are very melodic but compared to NeN, not as varied and even monotonous in the never-ending scrabbly tremolo guitar grind. The mood in both tracks seems hopeful and bright but that's probably the best I can say for these pieces. The DoS man tries every tool and trick to deliver momentous and epic post-BM drama in "Orchestration Oceanique" (the first track) but the riffs don't stand out much at all. The music is too busy and its pace is relentless. While there's plenty of energy and the journey seems adventurous and arduous, the track seems overly fussy. Perhaps if a few lyrics had been included here and there as anchors in the music to help shape it and give it direction, the track would be much improved. "Deluge 218" is a pleasant piece with a bristly tone, a cold spacey atmosphere and more vibrato guitar melody but it seems like an extension of the previous track and doesn't offer anything new.
I definitely think Neige et Noirceur offers much better music that could show DoS quite a few lessons on how to create long self-contained tracks of varied mood, melody and sound. DoS certainly is not the band I remember from the debut "Masterpieces of the Divine Spark" with its programmed rhythms, fluttery percussion and crumbly guitars. I wish that incarnation of DoS would come back if what we've heard on "Ascension" represents DoS and isn't some deviation.
Yep there are contrasts between the two bands but not the ones I was expecting.
| Name | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| (1.0°) Masterpieces of the Divine Spark | EP | 2011 |
| (21.0) & (22.0) Shalicu & Thantifaxath | Demo | 2012 |
| (2.0°) Sœurs de sagesse | Full-length | 2015 |
| Ascension | Split | 2016 |
| (3.0°) Sitra de-Smola | Full-length | 2016 |
A BM search for communion with wisdom - 70%
To date, this is the only official release by the Lyon-based black metal project with the distinctive name. "Daughters of Sophia" makes more sense if we think of "Sophia" as representing wisdom personified (which is what the girl's name actually means). So "daughters" comes to mean the products of wisdom, thinking wisely or even thinking independently, based on the evidence you find, where it leads to and seeking more information. On a more esoteric level, "daughters" could refer to the union that humans can achieve with the Eternal Wisdom (which precedes the existence of the universe) represented by Sophia as a result of seeking secret knowledge. The "divine spark" referenced in the album's title is a reference to that aspect of Sophia / Eternal Wisdom that exists in all humans; the goal of the search for spiritual knowledge becomes the union of one's own consciousness with cosmic consciousness.
The music across the album is a search for transcendence from the physical plane of existence, the one we inhabit, to higher realms; it starts off driven heavily by mechanical beats and meaty guitar riffs. As the recording progresses, the programmed mechanical beats are abandoned and the music becomes less melodic and riff-based, more abstract and finally flowing and trance-like.
An early highlight is "Thee Arising of the Virgin Phoenix", a speedy and urgent piece of perpetually buzzy guitars sometimes enlivened by machine-gun percussion and a spidery vocal. "Black Sun Enlightment" (sic) is dense and stormy with more varied pre-programmed percussion and a dark, almost terrifyingly delirious mood.
The pivotal track is "La Naissance d'Ouroboros", an instrumental piece that mixes trance-like BM guitar-noise showers with a long dreamy melodic acoustic guitar section; the music is all-enveloping, relentless and intense in its attack on one's consciousness. It sweeps its listeners before it and deposits them in an unearthly realm. Lead guitar drones lend a sombre touch and the whole track achieves an epic celestial majesty. Through almost imperceptible changes in tone, the mood of the streaming guitar drone becomes darker, more wistful and longing. Perhaps the track could have been edited for length as it doesn't vary a great deal or some ambience added to bring out the moody quality more.
Though not very original, the music is enjoyable and spans a broad range of BM sub-genres from something almost poppy through noisy BM and finally to something trancey and transcendental. It doesn't quite hit the mark in some ways: the final track tails off instead of reach a resolution or climax that either brings listeners back down to earth or leaves them forever in a state of higher consciousness, in union with the Eternal Wisdom; and track titles reference various mythical characters from different cultural traditions in a way that seems amateurish and shallow. Parts of the album could have done with some atmospheric effect or wash to relieve some of the repetition. There is something for everyone to like and the journey of self-discovery and communion with ultimate knowledge and consciousness, though done to death in black metal, is an interesting one to follow if only to see how different musicians approach the concept and carry it through.
