This is the debut album from French post-black metallers Jours Pâles.
Jours Pâles have been a band to not miss out on ever since 2021’s delectable Éclosion. Followed swiftly in 2022 by Tensions and then again in 2024 with Dissolution. With 58 minutes of new material to captivate and entrance the listener with, Résonances is another winner from Jours Pâles.
The music of Résonances is well-crafted and full to the brim with feeling-rich content. Whether it’s the plethora of emotive riffs, the nuanced drumming, or the sublime keyboards that add layers of depth whenever they’re used, it all hits the spot. And, of course, the singer. His charismatic voice is once again on fine form. Like the rest of the music, his vocal style has a flair of its own, and it works with the structures of the songs very well. Taken together, the full Jours Pâles musical package speaks with an individual voice, and I like what it whispers and shouts into my ears.
Aggression and charismatic detailing mix like natural bedfellows. Fiery riffs and melodic melancholy rub shoulders like old buddies. Everything about Résonances is welcoming and easy to engage with. It’s an effortlessly enjoyable experience, assuming you’re partial to high quality contemporary black metal of rare flavour. And why wouldn’t you be? After all, this is a great album.
You’d probably class this as melodic black metal, albeit with a post-blackened edge. Somehow this doesn’t do the music of Jours Pâles justice though. I remain convinced that there’s nobody else that really sounds too much like them – or that they don’t really sound too much like anyone else. The guiding artist behind Jours Pâles has managed to imbue this music with a spirit all of its own, and I can’t help fall for Jours Pâles anew every time I hear something new from the band.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 