Review Summary: A perfect start for this new post-black metal band.
Opprobre is a new band hailing from France (Paris and Montpellier). Formed in 2013, the band was originally a side project of Olivier and Vincent from the French Black Metal band Mysticisme. The main goal was to create a new post-black metal band with both of their respective musical influences. While Olivier and Vincent shared the composition in the beginning, the band added Clément (from the French Brutal Death Metal Antropofago and Devolution) at the drums and Cyril (solo French Black Metal project Sunnudagr) at the bass guitar. With this new lineup, the band saw new inspirations and while Olivier was the main songwriter, the entire band contributed to the album. Le Naufrage was written and recorded between July and December 2015 and was released on February the fourth of 2017.
Opprobre managed to create a very deep atmosphere of emotions with the alternation of raw and melodic black metal. The production, executed by Clément allows each instrument to bring its entire potential and to create a great dynamic between melodic and aggressive parts. Starting with the sound of natural elements such as wind and waves (probably during a storm), the listener drifts away in a collapsing world (le Naufrage meaning the Collapse, the sinking of a ship). The clean vocals reminds us of Alcest’s use of melodic vocals and achieve the same purpose perfectly: transcend emotions. While there are no guitar solos, the album is filled with arpeggios, piano and keyboard sounds that makes for a great melody. One notable mention is the heavy presence of the bass guitar, which isn’t the case most of the time in that genre.
Although the entire album is filled with songs that have flaws and qualities, the big standout is the closing track "Danse Catatonique" (I don’t think you need a translation for that) that lasts for ten minutes. During its entire length, the song is filled with the best moments of the album, the piano parts, the raging raw and yet full of emotions vocals, the clean vocals (and even whispers), the arpeggios and the heavy black metal riffing. Another standout would be "Abysses", where the production enhances the heavy atmosphere before abruptly stopping to a calmer style and then going back to the heavy black metal vocals. Although the songwriting is a bit repetitive, the main reason why this experience doesn’t become boring is the small and subtle changes there are in each songs.
Opprobre is a brand new band and its first record is already an incredible listen. We could only hope for them to improve even more their songwriting which would end up being near perfect. Fans of post-black metal should definitely check this out. In the end, this entire experience takes you away into another world inspired by the atmosphere of the record which is one this genre’s main goals. These guys just made a perfect entrance in the post-black metal spectrum.
