AN NCS PREMIERE: ERYN NON DAE. — “ASTRAL”

 

When you have followed, enjoyed, and praised the work of a band for as long as our site has been doing in the case of Eryn Non Dae., there is some risk that objectivity will be lost, or at least as much objectivity as can play a role in the appreciation of music, which some might argue isn’t very much at all.

Our site has been alive since November 2009, and one of our earliest reviews, only two months later, was of this French group’s debut album, Hydra Lernaïa. Since then, we’ve written about them more than a dozen other times, the last of which was a post in which my comrade Andy Synn named the band’s new album, Abandon of the Self, one of his most anticipated albums of 2018. It has been one of mine as well.

Eryn Non Dae. do not hurry themselves. More than five years have passed since their second album, Meliora; and it took roughly three years for Meliora to arrive after Hydra Lernaïa. If you’re a fan, you must be patient, but we’ve learned that the patience is rewarded. We’re about to learn that again.

 

One reason we and many other people look forward to this band’s music is that they defy convention, or at least they don’t feel constrained by convention. As Andy wrote when he highlighted the new album as one of our most anticipated, their music has been unorthodox and unpredictable — a “unique blend of calculated cathartic chaos and thrillingly dark, brooding atmosphere”. He also referred to the band as “complexicore cultivators” (wish I’d thought of that).

Metal Archives hasn’t seen fit to include Eryn Non Dae. in their listings (at least not that I can find), despite the formidable heaviness and raw emotional power of the music, and that alone might tell you something about unconventionality. I doubt that END. cares; perhaps they would wear that omission like a badge of honor.

 

 

The new album will be released by Debemur Morti Productions on March 9th. They describe Abandon of Self as “a monumental wave of melancholy and despair — a fascinating combination of post-apocalyptic fury and vast ambient passages”. They also ask us to imagine a “hybrid creature born from a dangerous tripartite marriage between Meshuggah, Tool and Godflesh.” Most of the song titles suggest visions of celestial wonders vastly beyond the confines of our own planet — “Astral”, “Stellar”, “Omni”, “Eclipse”, “Halo”, “Fragment”, and “Abyss”.

And now we have the first excerpt from the album to share with you — the opening track, “Astral“. Unsurprisingly, given the band’s history, it’s a multi-faceted experience, one made of intricate, body-moving rhythmic propulsion, flesh-scouring riffs, scraped-raw vocals full of pain and flame, flickering, boiling, freakish guitar lines — and reverential clean singing.

The song is an intricately crafted and textured piece that’s brutal and bleak, incendiary and incandescent, earthy and alien. It delivers both compulsive physicality and immersive atmosphere. And it’s undeniably an attention-grabbing way to start the album.

Yes, I suppose our objectivity could be called into question, but I’d rather say that the song objectively proves that we were right to be excited about Abandon of Self. Judge for yourselves through the stream below.

 

Abandon of Self was recorded, mixed, and mastered by the band’s long-time collaborator Mobo, and the artwork was created by the band’s bassist Mickaël André.

The album is available for preorder in different formats from DMP through the links below:

PRE-ORDER:
Gatefold CD : http://bit.ly/dmp0156CD
Gatefold 2×12″ LP : http://bit.ly/dmp0156LP
Digital : http://bit.ly/dmp0156DL

ERYN NON DAE.:
https://www.facebook.com/ERYNNONDAEofficial/