Creatvre - Toujours Humain - guest review
Creatvre - Toujours Humain - guest review
Tracklist
01. Syntropie02. Hope Inc.
03. Plus Humain
04. Chant Des Limbes
05. R+ X
06. 810-M4SS
07. Toujours En Bas
08. Diffamation
09. Shaïna
Guest review by
LeKiwi September 08, 2025
More than most subgenres in metal, I find it difficult to connect with black metal; I enjoy it as more of a garnishing on top rather than as the main course. That's not to say I don't indulge in my fair share of the subgenre's offerings, though those that most resonated with me tended to veer from the beaten path, or at least from its core sound: Lélekharang for its hauntingly beautiful melodies; Beneath The Shadow It Casts for its delicious textures; Heaven That Dwells Within for its grooviness; and La Proiezione Del Fuoco for its emotive ferocity. In the end, I've not been as surprised by something of that ilk as I was by Eloge De L'Ombre.
With his last record, Raphaël frayed the fringes of black metal, and I still not heard anything quite like it to this day. Thy Catafalque (this is the last one-person project I'll name-drop, I promise) delivers a similarly arrayed black metal charcuterie, but Creatvre's insouciant approach to the implied necessity of entertaining genre tropes is something to behold. The sheer level of adventurousness displayed on Eloge De L'Ombre challenges the accepted definition of black metal and, fortunately, this release is no different.
Creatvre's music is anything but simple. The compositional fluidity is as sonic bedlam, Raphael's evocations vying for dominance: triumphant and devastating; disquieting and serene; morose and cheerful; foreboding and optimistic. It can be jarring to stand on these shifting sands, but equally rewarding as you piece together these skirmishes as brush strokes on a grand tapestry. Now, hitting the mark for every listener while writing such incredibly dense and rich music is eventually an exercise in futility. There are specific moments where I do feel this record doesn't meet that impressively high bar, but this journey Raphaël invites you on is more than the sum of its parts.
A preliminary listen might lead you to think that this is indeed a record rooted in black metal; however, as you start to peel back the layers it becomes increasingly obvious that the only consistently black metal thing about this record - conveniently excluding the vocals - is the production: hazy and oppressive. I can't say it's my favourite type of sound, but the way it complements the writing is indelible, and I think nothing else would do it justice. As with his last full-length, the layering and mixing is meticulous, on par with what you might hear from Devin Townsend. Every instrument has its place on this beautifully arced spectrum of noise, and none are used in a superfluous gesture of ticking those avant-garde boxes. The near-ever-present choirs and synths lend the music a grandiose quality that you might expect from some 16th or 17th century music, with grim and gothic vibes reminding me of the first Blasphemous soundtrack.
I could go on about the genres traversed in Toujours Humain or even the influences that come to mind when trying to navigate in this maelstrom, but as soon as I wrote "blackened Leprous" I knew that was a lost cause. I purposely didn't go into the individual tracks because this really is a record that you just have to experience for yourself, and an experience it is. If you've become disillusioned of late with the "avant-garde" black metal deluge, why don't you sample one of its truer samples?
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by LeKiwi | September 08, 2025
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
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Posts: 9624
I knew this would be an unconventional listen, but I didn't expect it to be a "fun" one
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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Posts: 4326 Written by RaduP on 10.09.2025 at 08:50 And this is his more serious release…the last one was an absolute blast.
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