The first breath of the album hits like a fracture; Abyss asserts itself less as a collection of songs than as a field of psychic experimentation. The Parisian duo Dernier Souffle, composed of Alastor (instruments) and Nico (vocals), delivers a mini-LP that goes beyond mere sonic onslaught. Each track feels like it has been drawn from a dream loaded with symbols, where the unconscious dialogues with darkness.
Dernier Souffle’s atmospheric black metal is far from contemplative or esoteric in a decorative sense: it functions as an interior plunge, brutal and unsettling. The percussion hammers like a machine of obsession, guitars slice through space with an almost feverish urgency, and the screams hover somewhere between pain and trance. Yet beneath this abrasive surface, orchestral layers and ethereal choirs unfold, opening a breach to something larger: a mystical dimension where violence suddenly resonates with a spiritual echo.
The eponymous track, “Abyss”, immediately establishes this duality. It is a descent without guardrails, yet every sonic chaos is accompanied by atmospheric clarity. On “Mirror of Folly”, the guitars spiral in a way that evokes mental confusion, imprisonment within one’s own obsessions. The interlude, almost fragile, acts like a haunted breath, an inner voice that refuses to be silenced. Then “Reign of Ashes” reignites the fire: a deluge in which darkness is not only destructive but seems to carry a truth one cannot yield to.
The climax arrives with “Black Ink of Humanity”, a monumental piece where an Eastern-tinged melody rises—majestic yet strangled. Here, mysticism and psychology fully intersect: it is both a collective collapse and an intimate release. The track leaves a lasting impression, as if the band has managed to materialize that “last breath” occurring between ending and transformation.
With Abyss, Dernier Souffle delivers a dense record, not aiming to charm but to challenge. Its strength lies in the constant tension between the black metal’s dark matter and luminous openings toward an almost spiritual experience. More than a debut effort, it is a statement of intent: to explore the depths of the mind and transform chaos into language.
Abyss is available for listening on Bandcamp and Spotify, and the band can also be followed on their social networks.
