Band:	Sombres Forêts
Album:	La Mort Du Soleil
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	July 09, 2013
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Des Épaves
02. Étrangleurs De Soleils
03. Brumes
04. Au Flambeau
05. L'Éther
06. La Disparition
07. Effondrement

You know the cliché: A picture is worth a thousand words. Well Fursy Teyssier's cover art for the latest Sombres Forêts release says everything you need to know about what to expect.

The project began with an eponymous demo release followed shortly after by its full-length debut entitled Quintessence, which even in its infancy garnered positive critical reception across the globe. Following up the success of his project's debut, Annatar dropped Royaume de glace, now considered a contemporary Canadian black metal staple. Sombres Forêts has both grown in popularity and in maturity since, and has become somewhat of an influential name in the Eastern Canadian black metal scene.

Annatar and some of the other Métal Noir Québécois fraternity (namely Neptune and Icare of Gris "fame") then collaborated together with a one-time-release project known as Miserere Luminis, which is more in line with the style of this new album. Annatar's cult status has been helped in large part by the parallel success story of Gris (whose latest album was released on the same day and on the same label), yet both bands offer their own unique take on the genre.

Getting back to the cover art, an homage to J.M. William Turner, La mort du soleil does its best to convey the emotions that come with a ship battling the waves of the high seas, a terrible storm raining down upon a starved and overworked crew, with just a glimmer of light to offer the smallest iota of hope to anyone optimistic enough. The depressive, torturous atmosphere Annatar so effortlessly creates speaks volumes about his songwriting prowess as well as his ability to turn tragedy into art. This is the foundation of all Sombres Forêts releases.

Unsurprisingly traditional in its approach to the depressive spectrum of atmospheric black metal, La mort du soleil still manages to sound fresh, even ambitious throughout. "Des épaves" is the tide as it ebbs in with a relaxed sense of beauty, "Brumes" rages in and summons forth a perilous storm, and the bodies of the dead are washed ashore as the album closes with a piano-driven dirge. Each song offers its own sort of "calm before the storm" setup, usually acoustic and piano passages to lull the listener before bombarding them with depressive black metal and the passionate shrieks of Annatar.

This up-and-down approach offers a more varied experience as you take in the atmosphere of each song in parts. The story takes its time being told, with seven tracks totaling over 50 minutes, but its narrator is quite the captivating storyteller. You can expect a clearer production, a more passionate display of emotions, and more intricacies than on any previous Sombres Forêts release. Annatar has created his finest work yet.