Reviewing this album has been one of the hardest, most difficult things I have done… ever. Firstly, because I do not know the style / subgenre of Black Metal TRISTE TERRE plays; and secondly, because I really do not like such style. Really. Not my cup of tea. You are surely wondering “Hey, Daniel, then why bother reviewing something you do not know or do not even like?” Well, dear reader, because that is precisely the beauty of it all: Metal is such a diverse and organic palette of sounds and emotions that you have to push yourself to explore it beyond the boundaries of your small, narrow mind frame. And this is what TRISTE TERRE offers: a way to challenge yourself to explore new emotional territories. Hailing from Lyon, France, TERRA TRISTE plays what is called atmospheric Black Metal. The guitar work is masterfully done by one Naâl, who delivers the vocals and also performed all instruments in the previous releases, but on this album is joined by A. Varenne on contra bass (!) which is heard on many an emotional passage. Appreciating the music for what it is, the various layers of guitar riffs, melodies and harmonies manage to create an atmosphere of agony and pain, desolation and sadness, supported by a voice reminiscent of ELEND carried out by the occasional blast-beats, but in fact the drumming is quite musical; drum fills and pounding beats give a solid feeling emphasizing the rhythms and melodies, and the drumming is precisely one of the highlights of this album. Slow, sorrowful and solemnly dense, the album lets itself be listened as a funeral dirge for cosmic decay and majestic entropy. This is not a mere collection of songs placed here for your amusement (and that is why I have not highlighted a particular track) but an elegy to the unfathomable pits of the cosmos. The gnostic overtones of the song titles, the music takes you on a mystic journey through the work of the great architect, and if you blast this album wrapped by the dark solitude of your place of choice, with eyes closed and letting the music penetrate your skin and flow through your nerves and sinews, it will surely resonate on your senses as the soundtrack for the implosion of the universe and the death of all. Certainly not an album for the faint hearted, “Grand Œuvre” is meant for the devoted and dedicated disciple of the Demiurge dwelling in the darkest levels of emptiness… and for those who dare below the most depressing state of mind. Here, I challenge you to take the risk: may the music of TRISTE TERRE takes you to unknown voids of solitude guided by the hand of the mighty Cosmocrator. More info at www.facebook.com/tristeterre666, www.lesacteursdelombre.net