Review by Jeger on September 9, 2024.

As the sun rises and then sets into its blackened horizon over a Scandinavian-dominated black metal scene whose realizations of the genre come by way of occultism and misanthropy, over in France, there’s a different way of doing things. In L'hexagone, black metal is a much more artfully colored endeavor and its colors bleed to the curses of the times. The loss of once-so-cherished and now forlorn ways, the nightmarish possibility of such a rich culture’s de-evolution, and the curse of modernity’s blight captured within albums like Seth’s “La France De Maudits” LP and Gravenoire’s Devant La Porte Des Etoiles LP that have both been released via the pride of French extreme metal, the ever-prestigious Season Of Mist. 

There’s not much to be known about Gravenoire other than their pedigree and the fact that they take their inspiration from the sacred, the cosmic, and the primordial facets of French culture/history. Do you really need to know anything more? This is the tried-and-true black metal way, and Gravenoire is a true black metal venture through and through. 

Aren’t you sick of all the early 90’s comparisons? If it sounds like black metal then it must sound like early 90’s black metal. With Devant La Porte Des Etoiles, expect an elegant helping of mostly contemporary black metal at its finest: gorgeous but not sanitized production and forward-thinking music with the only ancient way of doing things being the fact that it was recorded live with no clicks or any other crutches - the way black metal should always be recorded - a true artists’ vision and a real artisan’s practice like a finely aged vintage as opposed to the cheap rail liquor of the Norwegian and Finnish scenes is the French product. 

A no filler, masterfully arranged LP from the epic cadences of the intro, 'Pavens' to the intoxicating melodicism of 'Aux Chiens' all the way through to the fire lit closer - a dismal soliloquy and an ode to the passing on of precious things. Violin to delicately sound the decay of the Western World as we plummet even further into the throes of ignorance. With this, their debut LP, Gravenoire transcend the established norm, all the while, as they remain firmly rooted in the traditions of French BM past: some torches, some war paint, and all those familiarities that make for true black metal. 

A soon-to-be institution is Gravenoire. Masterminded by black metal veteran RMS Hreidmarr and backed closely by the likes of members of Diablation, Ad Inferna, and Verfallen, you can expect what I can only describe as the quintessential French black metal experience, and they’ve only just begun. Light a candle, fire up the hearth, pour yourself a nice Cointreau, put on Devant La Porte Des Etoiles and mourn the day, for with each setting of the sun, we draw ever-closer to our own degeneration. This is art, this is beauty, this is black metal done the French way. Enjoy.

Final Score: 9.5 out of 10