Neige Morte ‘Bicephaale’ CD 2014

Neige Morte 'Bicephaale'Neige Morte is a particularly dark entity from France. On their second album they delve further into the filth and darkness they are known for.

The album opens with ‘500 Jours De Haine’, a track that, after the strange intro has ended, starts of by kicking you in the stomach with hard and filthy dissonance. Drums blast uncontrollably and one could think that the noise coming from the guitars is just random, but one would be wrong. This is a calculated attack on the sanity of the listener. Half way, the pounding filth makes way for ritual drums, sick vocals sound like they’re saying prayers to forbidden gods. A menacing bass spit out fragments of riffs as tensions rise to an explosive level. Then a slow, lumbering pace sets in and a melody only heard in nightmares drifts over the dead snow. The madness increases steadily, the music unravels at the end and we descend into darkness.

Here ‘Death Shall Have No Dominion’. Slowly the sickening music starts. The voice bellows with one of the most disgusting grunts known to man. There is much dissonance, frantic drumming and again it seems almost random. Yet there is method in this madness. The slow agony is suddenly broken by blast beats and vicious guitars; something resembling a solo is hurled at you from nowhere and you feel like caught in a sandstorm. Then the song sinks back into sludgy slowness and sucks you back into the drift sand.

Next up is ‘Eaters of the Worlds’. This starts off with a strong old school drum bit, yet the riffs are so dissonant and foul that only Necrophagia would dare play this. Then riffs fall apart into almost separate notes and another abrasive solo destroys your hearing. Then the music unravels and a really slow sermon of hate and doom sets in. As the voice swells, so does the tempo and before you know it, it all turns into some weird whirlwind of sound and screams, tempos rising and falling. This is insane.

After the previous madness, ‘Plenitude…’ offers some rest, be it an uncomfortable kind of rest. A bit like resting on a nest of vipers, you feel frightened and know you could die any moment, but right now the serpents slumber.

They wake up when ‘…& Vacuitè De Combat’ sets in. Slowly the serpents uncoil, their fangs revealed in gaping mouths. They slither and crawl, unaware of your presence. Then a thousand black eyes open and they attack. Chaos ensues, the vocals becoming higher pitched and the guitars playing the music of madmen. Around the seven minute mark something that actually resembles normal music sets in and this leads us to the next track.

The last part of this descent into hell is called ‘Eater Of Soul’ and it sure does the trick. Any bit of humanity that might have been left in you is now swept away. Gruesome riffs are blasting at you, while the drums pound a maddening beat. After that some seriously menacing double bass sets in and unearthly voices howl and hiss. Not even the music is human here; this is not made for us, but for the dark gods. Then, suddenly it is over. The storm has passed and all that remains is rubble.

Neige Morte deliver a unique and sick album with ‘Bicephaale’, worth a listen for anyone that dares.

Label: ConSouling Sounds
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp

Scribed by: Kevin Kentie