Even though croissants and café au lait might be typical French, I would prefer a bottle of red wine, while enjoying the latest output of these mournful collective named ATAVISMA. Being around since 2013, they released their first sign of grief in 2014 via Nihilistic Holocaust. Honestly "Where Wolves Once Dwelled" is one of those releases that you listen to once or maybe twice and store it away without missing anything at all. It is not that bad, but the initial spark to light up my interest was totally missing. Mediocre songwriting, combined with a very blurry production didn’t give me the needed chills. So I had my prejudices and doubts when I got to know about their current release. But I was kinda surprised in a positive way, when I heard the first tones of ‘A Subterranean Life’. The production is quite clear, yet raw and powerful enough to create a gloomy atmosphere. In combination with that slight Swedish note on the guitars and the cryptic grunts, there are some slight hints to acts like ETERNAL DARKNESS and MOONDARK. Also this morbid, whining lead guitar that appears for the first time after 3 minutes shows some reminiscence of other grief givers like OPHIS or even maybe SKEPTICISM, without reaching their composing skills yet. But never say never. ATAVISMA managed to keep up the tension for the whole song, which isn’t that easy at all with a playing time of nearly 11 minutes. I really hope that there’s gonna be some more stuff in the nearby future and if they keep on improving their musical abilities, they will be able to compete with aforementioned acts and gonna get themselves a safe place at the top of the Funeral Death / Doom genre. Next we have MAUR from Indonesia which shares the other side of that split tape. MAUR has been around since 2012 and this is their third release so far. Just like ATAVISMA they contributed just one song which isn’t so much shorter with its approximately 10 minutes. Metal Archives labels them as atmospheric Black Metal / Doom, but to be honest, except for the harsh, blackish vocals, I don’t see any comparism to Black Metal at all. After having listened to ‘Portrait Of The Old Souls’ over and over again, I felt reminded to Swedish TRISTITIA during their "One With Darkness" period. They throw in some British melancholia here and there but fail to create that certain atmosphere of which MY DYING BRIDE and old ANATHEMA are / have been famous for. MAUR know how to handle their instruments, but don’t manage to create sound patterns that gonna stay in your mind for a longer time and that monotous drums don’t make it easier to get stucked in your brain. There are others within this Postrock / Ambient / Doom / whatever scene, which are way better while incorporating fragments of Black Metal and Doom to their very own, unique sound. Just listen to bands like CELESTE, AMENRA or maybe YEAR OF NO LIGHT and you know what I mean. Sorry MAUR, but your partners in grief, ATAVISMA, are definetely ahead. Nevertheless, I suggest you to check this release out and get yourself an impression. Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies on pro tape. For all additional information check out: www.facebook.com/atavisma.band, www.facebook.com/intotheendlessmourning, https://atavisma.bandcamp.com, http://naturamaur.bandcamp.com, https://atavism-records.bandcamp.com