This is the second album from French black metal solo act Time Lurker.
It has been a long time since Time Lurker’s 2017 self-titled debut, but now we have 34 minutes of new material in the form of Empise. The artist behind Time Lurker is joined on this new album by a vocalist who howls her way through the songs with impassioned intensity.
Empise takes the listener on an atmospheric black metal journey into darkness. It opens underwhelmingly with a bleak intro that could have been left out; first song proper – Cavalière de Feu – sets the scene far better though, with an eerie, ethereal beginning, before exploding into blackened aggression. The rest of the tracks echo the strengths of this song, bringing a well-rounded vision of atmospheric black metal that makes a strong impression.
The songs are well-written, and I like this sort of atmospheric style. The music balances spectral violence and cosmic splendour, evoking mood-rich vistas as the album progresses that are emotive and grand. Many of the melodies work their dark magic wonderfully, and the album is very engaging. The vocals act less as a focal point, and more of just another musical layer. I like Time Lurker’s approach here, as you can get lost in the music, while the vocals just add a sort of wilder, unhinged flavour to proceedings, (that remind me of some of Ultha‘s). I should also note the emotion-rich clean vocals that appear on Disparais, Soleil. The album closes on an instrumental piece – Fils Sacré – that’s more hopeful than the rest of the tracks, and has somewhat of a post-metal influence too.
Empise has a lot to offer fans of atmospheric black metal. It’s very enjoyable, and is easy to listen to if you’re a fan of the style. The music grows on you too, like all good albums do, infecting your mind with its melodic grandeur and whirlwind of blackened depth. Yep, this has been worth the wait.
Very highly recommended.
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