Today we have the privilege of sharing an early stream of ‘L’abime dévore les âmes‘ the debut full-length album from Chambéry, France-based atmospheric death metal act VIANDE which releases this Friday, April 15th on Compact Disc and Digitally (vinyl coming August 10th, 2022) by way of cult label Transcending Obscurity Records.

Named for the flesh yet themed by death’s devour of souls Viande‘s cavernous atmospheric reach and martial brutality create an ear catching, immediate tension as the trio explore their own voice, a sound which benefits from the greater bastion of Impetuous Ritual, (later) Bloody Sign, and Grave Miasma where violence echoes through a mile-long cave before it hits the ear, distorting and intensifying as it lands. Though the default percussive mode here is set to kill at a moderate-to-brutal pace ‘L’abime dévore les âmes‘ still manages to be direct by its riffcraft, sporting much more than the usual dissonant fare in conjure of terrifying subterranean atmosphere. Bestial is perhaps not the right word to describe the sensation of the full listen yet there is something distinctly primal about the transmission of soul from flesh to aether directed here. Nonetheless the tract of riff and ruinous movement will be what catches the ear and holds the ear fast throughout the full listen. The passage from tumultuous damage towards dissolving doom offered here is one of the better death metal experiences of the month and comes highly recommended especially if you’ve some serious love for the experiential value of atmospheric death metal.

Thanks goes out to the artist and their label for the opportunity to share this album with the masses. Scroll down to the Bandcamp embed below to experience the whole thing. As always do your best to support the global death metal underground and grab a physical copy from Transcending Obscurity Records‘ Bandcamp or webstore.

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Per the press release:

Emanating as if from the foul-smelling, poisoned swamps, the music of debutants Viande will make you claw at your throat, enveloping you in suffocating darkness, and before you know it, it will have on your knees gasping for air, with a blood-stained bag on your head. Soon enough the clobbering begins in pitch black darkness and amidst the mind-numbing cacophony, with eerie sounds ringing about, one thing becomes clear – there are stranger, darker forces involved here. More than just another dark death metal band, Viande are conjuring up different sounds and atmospheric elements to create a truly terrifying form of death metal, one that doesn’t wallow in misery for too long and is more content bashing skulls in. The full length remains an amorphous exercise in darkness, be it with the use of bestial-sounding primordial catharsis, harrowing doom-laden passages, or just their own kind of unsettling industrial ambience, they’re on to something and it transcends mere Incantation-worship. L’abime dévore les âmes is an accomplished debut with soul-scarring qualities.

For fans of – Incantation, Cruciamentum, Portal, Dead Congregation, Vacivus, Fossilization, Gateway

Line up –
J: vocals + visuals
B: guitars + noise
M: drums
G: live bass

Artwork and layout by J-B Godefroy

Track Listing –

1. Les Dents Du Gouffre
2. Le Ventre Monde
3. La Tombe Avide
4. Miroir Decharne
5. Le Souffle Des Os
6. Traitre A La Vie
7. Lueurs De Cendres
8. Langues De Brume

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