AU-DESSUS‘ End of Chapter LP comes out this Friday via Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions, and when you hear the full thing your mind will be blown. This band has a sound like no other, and because of that every second of this release is stellar. The sonic textures on End of Chapter combine the harsh with the beautiful. I’m so impressed by what AU-DESSUS has been able to manifest on this LP, which is why we are going to allow the full stream of End of Chapter speak for us! You can also read what our writer Spyros had to say about this LP when he reviewed it earlier this year…You can pre-order End of Chapter HERE! We would like to salute AU-DESSUS, Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions and Dead Pig Entertainment for making this record a reality for us all to enjoy!!!
The post-black metal scene is difficult to pinpoint, considering that you have acts as diverge as Alcest and Altar of Plagues under the same big tent. Au-Dessus follows a cohesive and holistic narrative to their post-black metal doctrine, attempting a fusion of the ethereal post-metal sound, and the venomous black metal idiosyncrasies. The black metal approach remains the focal point, and it is obvious to see how adept Au-Dessus is when it comes to unleashing punishing assaults. In their most brutal, they traverse back to the traditional aspect of the genre, the long, repetitive riffing and the howling vocals, echoing through the darkened space.
The result of using this destructive methodology is deeply felt, but it would not make for a great approach if it was not enriched by further additions. Staying within the boundaries of black metal, the band enacts a strong atmospheric scenery, implemented in a non-extravagant manner in using synths or keys, but by applying elements of post-metal. The elusive, dreamlike manifestations appear in the form of huge riffs, with the pace dropping down, and opening up the music, creating epic sequences of sound moulding. The cycloid nature that it holds, aided by the wall of sound approach that the production takes in these parts, compliments the switches from the eerie leads, granting an asphyxiating effect following the dissonant renditions.
