Review by Alex on May 11, 2021.

And after yet another 55 minutes I’ve yet to change my mind, Autarcie's Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie is going to be a massive success for the year and for supporters of French black metal. From the prelude to the grace and grandeur that is 'Nation' through 'France Profonde', 'Le Bardit Des Hardis' and the title track 'Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie', this album stands tall and proud with exemplary music amidst a growing crowd of mediocre and soulless black metal. Autarcie are no strangers to black metal and the underground, their albums over the years have garnered them a rank of high esteem within the vast black metal spectrum and this latest installment will fortify greater their revered establishment.

Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie revels in an attitude of victory intermingling with melancholy, and beauty. Every track is presented with a glow of magnificence and is kept active for the entirety of the album. Like a film that emphasizes every angle, every frame is as eye catching as possible, thus the same applies to Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie, every rhythm, every section and transition is a moment to recall, capture and preserve; sheer musical poetry. The songs are complete earworm, sonic delight from start to end with riffs sitting on mountains with its head held high and drumming that decorates the floral space of riffs with taunting cymbal and HI-hat additions.

Keyboards are utilized to great effect whereby they expand the already broad and lush textures of riffs and drums to dreamlike soundscapes. Melodies romantic and of a victorious tone roam and merge during the runtime of Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie that’d then see the brief incorporation of battle samples at select intervals. Meanwhile the vocals being of a raw and ravaging tone manage to express grief, loss, anger and victory. Altogether with the instrumental elegance and ambition, the record shapes itself into a luminescent product of French black metal that will remain an emblematic installment within Autarcie's catalogue.

Having heard Autarcie's past work, there was no questioning the brilliance that would be brought to this newest entry. Still demonstrating the ability to offer something remarkable though seemingly still adhering to simplicity. Completed with picturesque and bold cover-art, Apogée.Ivresse.Agonie greets the listener with an intriguing and engaging visual companion to the mesmerizing music to be heard on the record. Coming a long way in black metal since inception and still having kept the respect and support of the underground, Autarcie once more, humbly crafts an album of majestic heights, a testament to compositional supremacy.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Yener on May 9, 2019.

This is a release which completely caught me off guard, time wise. I mean the band had just released the fantastic Necrobreed just a year before, so it was surely not enough time for a new full-length album. But an EP? Hell, I don’t imagine a lot of us will say no to that.

I think it was also a smart choice on Benighted’s part, to do a test EP before their new full length. A sort of test of the waters, because something that not perhaps everyone will be aware of is that Benighted have actually lost their primary guitar player and song writer, Olivier Gabriel. Not only was he a founding member of the band, but the riffs he contributed were enormous. So, it will be interesting to see what current guitar player Emmanuel Dalle can bring to the table, along with Olivier’s replacement, Fabien Desgardins. 

One very positive addition to the band is new drummer Kevin Paradis. I’ve been following this guy closely for years on YouTube and he absolutely crushes. While it was a bit sad to see Romain Goulon disband due to health reasons, I don’t think Benighted could have found a better replacement than Kevin. Pierre Arnoux is on bass duties, and Julien is of course on vocals.

“Teeth and Hatred” kicks off this EP, and there’s no mistaking that this is Benighted. A little different than what we are used to perhaps, but still Benighted. While the song has some interesting sections (and a very nice intro), the riffs just aren’t there like they used to be. Kevin does a fantastic job working his way around the kit, especially during the verses. The song moves forward with conviction, but honestly, this EP could have had a better start than this. But thankfully things pick up very quickly with the arrival of “Martyr” - an absolute screamer of a track. Julien lets loose on his vocals and let’s get something straight - there is no other death metal vocalist out there that can touch this guy in my opinion. He’s the Swiss army knife of metal vocalists. Screams, squeals, gutturals, you name it, the guy can do it. And as always, he changes up his style on the fly like it were nothing, usually during the same verse. The drum work is outstanding, Kevin is left free to just let it rip, and he doesn’t hold back; some intense drumming throughout, with the guitars roaring, possessed, behind him. This is what Benighted do best. 

The final original piece of music on this EP is titled “Dogs Always Bite Harder than Their Master”, which despite the ridiculous title, has quite a different vibe than the rest of the EP. The band go into infrequently uncharted territories, relying more on atmosphere than brutality. The song has many sections so it’s not just an atmospheric track, but those sections could have been arranged better in my opinion. In its current form, the track seems to be a bit all over the place, and has a problem maintaining a natural flow to the music. 

The rest of this EP is not just filler like a lot of another EP’s out there. A cover of “Slaughter of the Soul” originally by At the Gates, of course, is present, and it’s done really well. Benighted has always enjoyed doing covers and paying homage to artists that they like, and I really enjoy that about them. So far, every cover they’ve ever done, they’ve made it their own somehow, and elevated the originals. This is no different, it’s extremely well done. We are then greeted with six assorted live tracks, and while I’m not really a fan of live records for the most part, Benighted are quite enjoyable to listen to live, even when it’s just audio. They’re a band I would love to see live and wouldn’t miss the opportunity, however, sitting at home listening to their live recordings isn’t really my cup of tea, even though they’re enjoyable enough.

Overall, I’m happy that they released this EP. It’s strange hearing them without Olivier, but the remaining guys have done a fine job. “Martyr” is a really fantastic song, though not quite sold on the other two originals on here. This definitely has potential - I guess we’ll just have to wait and see where they take the band next. But wherever that may be, I’ll be there with sharp ears and a notepad.

Rating: 8 out of 10