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CONTEMPLATIONS
Existence

Self-released (2014)
Rating: 5/10

Nicolas Panchout is the man behind Contemplations, a French black metal “band” who tend to dabble in the hypnotic rather than hateful side of what is becoming one of metal’s most diverse genres. Existence is the debut offering from Panchout, who began working on this project in 2013.

This digital-only release offers four lengthy tracks. Opener ‘Errance’, like a lot of atmospheric songs, tends to combine sprawling guitars with eerier orchestration which provide gothic tones. All of the tracks on offer could be accused of being overlong, given they all meander like a grey haze of sparse percussion. I do like the vocals, however, which range from the formulaic black metal rasps to deathlier exhalation.

The 13-and-a-half minute ‘Void’ lives up to its name as a stark expression, evoking images of remote landscapes and ashen clouds before resorting to an almost doom-laden plod of expansive percussion and sombre guitars. The pacier segments of these tracks do resemble one another, which is where black metal not only becomes a tad limited but begins to grate.

‘Void’ has a far greater presence when it’s not constructed of grating guitars, but Nicolas Panchout always attempts to hint at the majestic. This often works with the bleaker experimentation, particularly on ‘Vastness’ with its rainy introduction goth-tinged guitars, which heave majestically over some nice cymbal slaps and those hoarse vocal gasps.

Again, the track resorts to a speedier, more breathtaking arrangement as the drums clatter but slip nicely into those icy guitars with barely a crack between them. Indeed, Existence – despite its vocal injections – is more of an instrumental opus.

The effort finishes with the near 12-minute ‘Onirism’, which has further cosmic contemplations if you will, as the track bleeds from the cavity like a wisp of icy vapour. Here, Contemplations have more in common with the galactic experimentation of Neptune Towers in that the track acts as merely a soundtrack to all those images we’ve been given over the last 40 or so minutes. Eerie tweaks and orchestral hums are what make ‘Onirism’ a different track entirely from those others on offer, and rounds off an intriguing although not incredibly rewarding album.

There’s a lot of this whispering black metal investigation going on, mainly from lone musicians who can create an entire soundscape within the confines of their murky bedroom. For all of its hypnotic nature, Existence rarely engages however, acting more – eventually, anyway – as a chill-out session rather than a multi-layered paradise we’ve never visited before.

Neil Arnold

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