Vespéral returns in 2025 with their second album, La mort de l’âme, released on April 11. The project, which brings together musicians from Conifère and Ossuaire among others, had already made a mark in 2023 with Nuit blanche. Recorded in Montreal last year and shaped by Tehom Productions, the album confirms the group’s distinctive presence within the Quebec black metal scene. The cover, designed by Nakkabre, dark and elegant, fits perfectly with the themes explored here: mental illness, loneliness, and more broadly, a form of existential melancholy.
From the very first moments, an acoustic guitar rings out, stripped down, like a fragile thread stretched through the darkness. A choral voice settles on top, solemn and distant, giving the impression of witnessing a funeral ceremony or a prayer for a lost soul. It’s a gentle yet weighty opening, a kind of prelude to self-loss, immediately immersing the listener in the album’s emotional core. One feels caught between contemplation and the abyss before the storm rises.
As atmospheric guitars and more intense rhythms take over, the album unfolds its full range of colors. Critics have noted that the melodies are addictive, rooted in the spirit of 1990s atmospheric black metal, yet presented with a modern, personal approach. What strikes the listener is how Vespéral manages to balance darkness and energy, sometimes letting raw, almost punk-like bursts emerge. The drumming, nervous and direct, carries that punky edge already familiar from Conifère, adding a distinctive breath to the music.
The vocals further accentuate the sense of tension and fragility. Sometimes raw, sometimes desperate, they occasionally take on a nearly punkish rage, as in Souffle glacial. At other moments, subtle, cosmic synths create spaces for breathing and strangeness. This alternation keeps the album in constant motion, shifting between epic surges and more contemplative moments.
Where Nuit blanche had laid the groundwork, La mort de l’âme comes across as a stronger, more polished album, confident in its own language. The guitars retain remarkable clarity even in the densest passages, and the production allows space without softening the aggression. The result is an album that can be replayed endlessly, each listen revealing new nuances or tensions.
Ultimately, Vespéral delivers a dark and melodic work, driven by visceral energy and a striking sincerity. It breathes night, suffering, and wandering, but also a form of beauty in the surrender of self. In the landscape of Quebec atmospheric black metal, it stands as a milestone that deserves full attention.
Discover Vespéral on Bandcamp.
