ninehertz

I, Voidhanger Records always bring us the weirdest and boldest in extreme metal all year long, and here they are delivering once more when everyone else has packed up for the year. Void Paradigm are a French trio, featuring members of, amongst other notable bands, Sordide, whose Hier Déjà Mort still gets plays on my stereo.

There are two gigantic tracks that constitute Tout Ira Mieux Sans Nous, both in length and ambition. The first, Part I (it is meant to be devoured as one but split to allow for easier accessibility I presume) is near 18 minutes long, with a hardcore-based frenzied, discordant opening – it feels manic even in this early, fertile moments. It stirs into an avant garde potion of black metal, hardcore and doom, never burying itself in the quagmire of noises, always allowing itself clear room for its experimentalism to express itself in vibrant and weirder ways.

It is fascinating, progressive of course, always within a blackened framework and permanently venomous, so its hostile nature is never forgotten even amongst such free-form approaches. It has turns – upon one, it becomes jumpy with jazz-minded guitars, like Dillinger Escape Plan jamming with Oranssi Pazuzu as reimagined on the old Throatruiner roster. It relents its energy only at the last.

Part II is even longer, surpassing the 20 minute mark. This has a crawling, eerily thin atmosphere, slowly but steadily increasing its black metal conversion, chiefly through the vocals. There is an unusual prog style development led by the bass, then an experimental version of Plebeian Grandstand vibe – it is, as throughout, an exciting listen, peering into these moments of pure imagination. The quieter middle is thrown off by vocals seemingly losing their grip on sanity, playing out as thus towards its end.

This is a grand work, ambitious and ever interesting; often thrilling. It never gets bogged down in its own complexity, despite its wild divergences and length, instead keeping it febrile and alive. It requires a clear mind and space to devour and is rewarding to those who do.