Intégrisme

Sombre Présage (roughly translating to English as ‘Dark Omen’) is a band that spans the hinterland between black metal and dark ambient. How far a band can move from the former to the latter and still be considered truly ‘metal’ is a perennial area of contention but there can be no doubt that, for ‘Intégrisme’ at least, Voxum (the one-man band behind this French act) has pitched his tent firmly in the dark ambient camp. No vocals - screamed or otherwise - are present, no blastbeats to drive the songs along and, most fundamentally, no riffs. At all. Indeed, unless feedback is included, not even any guitars. In fact, there is precious little evidence of any instrumentation, as Sombre Présage has mastered the dankly organic style of dark ambient, all hums and creaks and surges, familiar from bands such as Raison d’Etre and Negru Voda. Although, bearing in mind the subject matter and presentation, the most accurate points of comparison may well be MZ412 or the pioneering US noise band NON, who both share Sombre Présage’s fascination with the occult and also layering waves of abstract noise.

However (leaving aside the suspicion that just that one introductory paragraph will have told many metalheads all they need or want to know about ‘Intégrisme’), there remains the fact that, whatever its legitimacy as metal, Sombre Présage has produced a highly accomplished and absorbing dark ambient release. If listened to in expectation of technical riffing, then it will probably be four tracks in before the truth dawns but, taken entirely on its own terms, the album is a superior example of its chosen genre.

‘Intégrisme’ (more simply ‘integrism’ in English) is a term that derives from precise differences between theology and dogma, but became colloquially a derogatory word applied to those who strictly adhere to traditional Catholicism. It is also beginning to be used in reference to extreme Islamists and can be more loosely translated from the French in certain contexts as ‘fundamentalism’, although the gloom-enshrouded photographs of gothic cathedrals and graveyards that adorn the presentation of the CD seem to indicate that Voxum is more concerned with the original Catholic aspect.

‘Au commencement…’ is the apposite title for the first track, which itself begins with a cracking sound like the opening of a tomb before developing into a series of undulating rasps of varying length and speed, thereby avoiding monotony. The sound is that of large blocks of stone scraping over one another and the noise is distorted and immense. Indeed, as the intensity builds at various points in the track, the speakers struggle to cope with the level of distortion, even at relatively low volume. The sense is of approaching dread that will be fully realised by the rest of the album.

This opening track also encapsulates the defining technique that Sombre Présage employs throughout ‘Intégrisme’: that of noise which constantly ebbs and flows. Rather than following the pattern of each song building predictably towards a final crescendo, here the peaks of volume come and go throughout the course of the track, a disconcerting perpetual advance and retreat that maintains a sense of insecurity and threat across the whole album. ‘Cérémonial Chthonien’ (a reference to a subterranean squid-like creature created, after HP Lovecraft, by the writer Brian Lumley) is perhaps the clearest example of this approach, entirely founded upon rolling waves of noise that constantly rise and fall, the sound periodically overwhelming the drums before pulling back for a while, only to surge back up again.

It is worth noting that ‘Cérémonial Chthonien’ is the only track on ‘Intégrisme’ to actually feature drums, and they contribute no more than a simple unvarying rhythm that reticently underpins the waves of sound crashing over the top. The only other remotely percussive element on the album comes on ‘De la Lumière à l’Ombre’ (‘From the Light to the Shadow’) but it is really just the sound of a fluctuating heartbeat, thumping gently in the background. This track also features the only other human element on the record, with indistinct sampled voices (apparently speaking English, though it’s hard to tell) ghosting back and forth amidst the maelstrom of sound. It’s as if the people are being heard fleetingly as they pass by at a distance, with no possibility of contact. Aside from these muffled voices, ‘De la Lumière à l’Ombre’ is comprised of harsh, grating tones intertwined with surges of feedback that buffet the listener back and forth.

Between these two tracks sits the most peaceful song on ‘Intégrisme’, providing a brooding respite from the surrounding barrage of distortion. ‘Dans ce Caveau Humide Pourrissent Mes Restes’ (‘In the Damp Cave My Remains are Rotting’) features undeniably musical tones, which form an undulating, moaning drone punctuated by dank dripping effects, placing the listener firmly in the eponymous cave. The effect is subdued and mournful, as the tones gradually lengthen and coalesce throughout the course of the track, although the sense of foreboding and threat that the album works so hard to maintain is still present in the supremely heavy bass throb that underlies the more serene surface.

Sombre Présage’s debt to previous explorers of noise is most evident on ‘Prêtre d’un Ordre Noir’ (‘Priest of a Black Order’), which would sit quite comfortably on NON’s ‘God & Beast’ album. Formed of a deep, distorted electronic hum, perpetually on the edge of control, with a crystalline shimmer of prickling feedback over the top, the track gradually begins to sound like a monstrous voice that chants slowly over and over. The dense screens of overwhelming noise make the track almost resemble a breathing, organic entity, with occasional chiming and thudding sounds embodying opposing elements of beauty and menace.

‘Intégrisme’ is fundamentally an album about abstract noise in the grimmest dark ambient tradition and it is highly successful in this pursuit. It is, then, perhaps ironic that the most effective track on the album, in many respects, is the one that is the most melodic. ‘Parade Funèbre’ (‘Funeral Procession’) counterpoints Frédéric Chopin’s funeral march, sparsely picked out on a piano, with angry blasts of echoing, cavernous feedback, underlaid by hollow rumbles. The feedback occasionally rises to sharp, discordant peaks, as the piano melody, in keeping with the album’s style, fades back and forth into prominence. The result is powerful and it’s not too fanciful to see the uncontrolled feedback as approximating the wailing grief of the bereaved at the funeral procession itself.

This inspired contrast of the noise element with a skeletal melody actually serves to heighten the effect of both and, although not characteristic of the album as a whole, it does represent its standout moment and one which Sombre Présage will hopefully explore further in the future.

Overall, though, it is the closing track that most precisely defines the sense of this album. ‘Oppression’ features rumbling tones that sound eerily like the wind gusting through hollowed out caverns and it truly is an oppressive noise, occasionally dropping to an almost sub-sonic murmur before building up deafeningly once more and rushing out from the speakers. The sensation is certainly ominous but at the same time it is almost perversely soothing, the borderline white noise wiping away thoughts and cares in a manner that NON would definitely approve of.

‘Intégrisme’ is certainly an oppressive experience. The way in which the sound acts as a looming threat, getting perilously closer then apparently retreating only to rush back once more, for the best part of an hour can be draining as well as exhilarating. Sombre Présage has created a dark ambient experience that is truly black, unsettling and powerful, which is reflected in the score awarded. If, however, straight black metal with shrieked vocals, pounding drums and huge riffs is the only type of blackness that is acceptable then ignore the score and look elsewhere. This is definitely fundamentalists’ dark ambient.