In the pursuit of appreciating death-doom, I strive to see what I can find underneath the surface. Ataraxie is a band I had heard about, but never listened to anything they released. Curious about their brand of death-doom, I decided to listen to their newest full-length, the dense Le Déclin, and see what the fuss was all about. Who would have thought that the French would sound so menacing viewed under the microscope of death-doom?

Le Déclin starts off slowly with title track “Le Déclin”, subtly moving from the acoustic tones of one guitar to the introduction of the other instruments. The music grows into a behemoth wall of sound, only broken by the vocals. Jonathan Théry’s ability to shift from harrowing screams to spoken word is impressive, keeping the listener in suspense because you don’t know what to expect. The vocals break the monotony of the track, providing some momentum to the slow pace. “Le Déclin” also sets up the main themes for the rest of the album, showing how we let the world decline because of our complacency towards it. As the album continues, the music gains more color, experimenting more with setting. “Vomisseurs De Vide” feels more like the true start of the album, playing more with death metal tones and using distortion to make the music cavernous and harrowing. Gone is the monotony that marred the first track; “Vomisseurs De Vide” vibrates with intensity, pulling the listener deeper into the band’s crushing weight. If “Le Déclin” was supposed to be a lamentation about the world going to hell, then “Vomisseurs De Vide” is the scream of protest pulling people out of their complacency. It is the signal that takes away the blindfold and lets us see the world as it truly is: already doomed, with no hope in sight.

Since 2014 Ataraxie has been a three guitar band, allowing the group to emphasize dynamics and focus on building tension and playing aggressively. Although heavily rooted in funeral doom, Ataraxie don’t stick to a single genre, instead incorporating death metal tonalities into their sound. The music may drag, but Ataraxie balances this out with a sense of desolation. “Funeral” implies grief, a sadness cloaking the entirety of the atmosphere you are trying to build. Le Déclin is a soul-shattering, devastating affair, an album that continues to reverberate even after there is nothing left to say.

My main issue with Le Déclin stems from its runtime. It feels like a one-track album rather than an album whose songs average about 20 minutes per track. I investigated the runtime of some past death-doom releases I either listened to or wrote about, and they all seem to average in the 40-minute range. I consider that to be the standard in most death-doom releases, especially if they are experimenting with sound or seem to be more focused in the death metal aspects of their record. Le Declin doubles that average, sitting nicely at 81 minutes. But it also feels like nothing happens. There are moments that break up Le Declin and make it easier to know where you are – third track “Glory of Ignominy” has this pretty, almost acoustic section that gives the listener a breather – but for the most part it doesn’t feel like much happens. I understand this is due to Ataraxie’s funeral doom tendencies, as the music slows and moves at a funerary dirge pace, but no death-doom album should be this long.

Although not my kind of death-doom, I appreciate the complexity and intricacy Ataraxie creates in Le Déclin. Sometimes you need to go outside your comfort zone and see what else is out there. Ultimately, if you are into funeral death-doom, then you will enjoy Le Déclin, because it is a haunting record with something important to say. Come for the music, stay for the story.

–Hera

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Le Déclin is available October 25 on Ardua Music and Weird Truth Productions. For more information on Ataraxie, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.