ENDE – L’Aube Des Anath​è​mes

The French black metal horde known as Ende is not one that I had encountered prior to this, but they have been quite prolific ever since the band’s inception in 2010, and I must say that this seven-track opus of theirs is oftentimes rather spellbinding and a perfectly melancholy listen.

In some ways, L’Aube Des Anath​è​mes reminds me ever so slightly of certain songs and albums by Taake, Orkan, and Tulus due to its strangely necro-romantic aura that moves effortlessly between the morose and introspective, the majestic and desolate, the sinister and haunting, the painful and cathartic, and the occult for lack of a better term. Wide in scope in some respects but neither overblown nor pompous, this epic-sounding offering is an atmospheric and unpretentious piece of work that may be lacking in originality but which more than makes up for that in sheer substance, charisma, and melodic flair. There is a good flow to these compositions, and when listening to the disc it very much feels as if these chaps have somehow reinvigorated the traditional black metal style and aesthetic and made it sound fresh. The dynamic musical arrangements and irresistibly intense vocals hammer home the fact that L’Aube Des Anath​èmes is not merely a nostalgic echo of the past nor a sentimental trip back to the nineties; it succeeds in conjuring up an absorbing and immersive soundscape filled with unsettling beauty and relentlessly bleak tones of madness and despair.

Should you require innovation then look elsewhere but rest assured that this inspired record is as honest and genuine as they come and delivers more than enough gloomy thrills to warrant repeated listens. The fierce closing song entitled “Renaissance” is a particularly brooding treat as is the memorable and unearthly “Favete Linguis.”