Review Summary: The fire keeps on burning.
Ahhhhh, yes, finally Bosse-de-Nage is back. After eight long, painful years without them, they've finally graced our presence once again with their new album,
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest. They had built up quite the head of steam with their previous releases, starting off with their self-titled debut as a more typical DSBM band with hints of post-rock and shoegaze before morphing into one of the best post-black metal bands in the scene with
III and especially
All Fours, which is one of the best albums ever in this particular genre. So after such a long, painstaking layoff, how does this album stack up?
The opener, ‘Where to Now?’, is pretty much a nasty post-hardcore track with wacky riffage and lo-fi-ish production before tumbling down a dark, atmospheric black metal rabbit hole equipped with thunderous blast beats and shrill rasping vocals. The track transitions about three minutes in to a jazzy piano piece that shows you Bosse-de-Nage aren't messing around in the slightest. It ends how it began, with sick hardcore riffs and howls from Hell. The jazzy vibes continue with ‘Mementos’. It's honestly such a pleasant surprise and goes heavily into new territory for the band. Symbols hum quietly and spoken word vocals wash over you like a wave. Again, around the three-minute mark, the song transcends into an atmospheric black metal and post-metal tsunami. The build-up to the storm is absolutely incredible and seamless, leaving the listener anticipating what will happen next. ‘In the Name of the Moth’ comes next, an absolute monolithic post-metal track at heart with deep basslines strumming and more spoken word vocals. Once again, the build-ups are just second to none before it all comes crashing down into a black metal abyss of blasts and post-hardcore-influenced riffs.
As you can tell, the album really is all about highs and lows. The way that Bosse-de-Nage lifts you up before crushing your skull into dust is really something to behold. ‘With a Shrug’ is a quick, two-minute ambient interlude that gives you a break from the madness for just a quick second. ‘No Such Place’ comes next and is the longest track on the album, clocking in at a little over eight minutes. The drumming in particular on this track really draws the listener in with tight symbol work and passionate fills. That's the thing about Bosse-de-Nage, they keep their black metal roots intact without ever becoming one-note with just blast beats and tremolo picking. Instead of the cryptic build-ups, this song hits you with intensity right away. It almost sounds like a black metal-inspired Cult of Luna track with the oceanic atmosphere. ‘Triangular Dream’ is a lush, two-minute ambient interlude with some whispered vocals. This leads into ‘Underwater’ and this track is a true post-hardcore bonanza with distorted riffage and piercing shrieks.
‘Frenzy’ is exactly how it sounds, it's an absolute clinic on ear-splitting black metal for about three minutes before transitioning into more ambient soundscapes and then back to black metal. It's a lot going on for a six-minute track, but it never sounds disjointed at all. ‘Immortality Project’ is another purely atmospheric ambient/post-rock track that will lull the listener into a heavenly trance. The final track, ‘Leviathan’, is the most massive-sounding song on the album, culminating all the sounds that have been heard up to this point. It has thunderous post-metal riffs, sharp gutturals and a dynamite drum performance.
Bosse-de-Nage has returned with a force, my friends. They've added new elements to their post-black metal base while never sacrificing their true identity as songwriters.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest is possibly their most cohesive work to date and it shows off all of the best elements that the band has to work with. If you're a fan of black metal, post-metal, post-hardcore, post-rock or ambient music, there's a very good chance that you'll find many things to enjoy about Bosse-de-Nage's latest opus.
