The (dis)passion project of French artist Dehn Sora, notable for his work with Ulver and Blut Aus Nord, is an affair wrought in caustic sorrow that feels as if its sole creator had the desperate urge to cut it out of himself – a growth that might otherwise have consumed him.
With its dismal turbulence and tremulous leads, Derrière-Nous La Lumière – meaning ‘Behind us, the light’ – is often reminiscent of atmospheric post-metallers The Atlas Moth, each track a continuation of the last, the time signatures evolving gradually into very different, restless beasts.
Opening track Sortez Vos Lames, Que Nous Perdions Nos Poings is equally engaging and removed, potent with impotent rage, as if Sora is reaching for something that he can’t obtain, expending all of his efforts only to remain trapped. By track four, all coherence in his rasping scream has degenerated into animalistic howls. Guitars twist in a shrill vortex all around as the drums pound remorselessly onward, uncaring of his suffering. Derrière… is seductive in its abject negativity, and once under your skin beckons you back repeatedly unto its cold embrace.
