(With an introduction by Andy Synn, today we premiere a video of the Montreal band Présages performing the final two tracks on their 2021 debut album Pleurs.)

The debut album from Présages was one of last year’s hidden gems (and you can read more about it here).

By amalgamating elements of Death, Doom, and Post-Metal — aided and abetted by an almost Meshuggah-sized guitar tone — the eight tracks which made up Pleurs left a serious (and seriously heavy) impression on yours truly, and I’m pretty sure at least some of our readers had the same reaction.

It wasn’t just that the Canadian quartet were capable of conjuring such a stunningly dense, almost physically palpable, sense of sheer sonic mass with their music though, it was their ability to pair this level of riff-focussed (and, at key moments, blast-driven) intensity with an equally massive and weighty sense of atmosphere, as well as some subtle, mood-enhancing electronic elements, which helped them stand out from the crowd.

But you don’t have to take my word for it, as the band have asked us to host a “live in the studio” performance of the album’s climactic double-act – “Hiérophanie” and “Pleure” – which together represent the very best that Présages have to offer, and positions them as potential future leaders of the burgeoning “Atmospheric Death Metal” movement, alongside similarly awesome artists like Barús, Nightmarer, and Nero Di Marte. Continue reading »