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Year Of No Light's lengthy, sprawling compositions of towering walls of guitars and sombre synths irradiate a sense of dire solemnity and spiritual gravity, and couldn't be a more fitting soundtrack for grim medieval scenarios. But there is also the element of absolution, regeneration, elevation, transcendence in the face of death. “Consolamentum” is dense, rich and lush and yet somehow feels starved and deprived. It comes as no surprise that ever since the beginning of their career, the band have had an obsession for the fall of man and salvation through darkness. The term ‘consolamentum’ describes the sacrament, the initiation ritual of the Catharic Church, which thrived in Southern Europe in the 12/14th century - a ritual that brought eternal austereness and immersion in the Holy Spirit. “There's a thread running through all of our albums”, says the band collectively. “An exploration of the sensitive world that obeys a certain telos, first fantasized ("Nord"-2006) and reverberated ("Ausserwelt"-2010), then declaimed as a warning ("Tocsin"-2013). The deeper we dig, the more the motifs we have to unveil appear to us. Yes, it's a bit gnostic. This album is the epiphany of the Fall”.

Year Of No Light made themselves a name in the European avant/instrumental/post-metal scene for the last 20 years. Extensive tours in Europe, North America and Russia in 2013 and 2014, including two appearances at Roadburn festival, Hellfest and a spectacular performance in a 17th Century fortress in the Carpathian mountains introduced them to a broader and quickly growing international audience. The cinematic scope of their music implies that Year Of No Light are a group of artists that pay a great deal of attention to their visual representation, from the classy album artworks and merch designs to the carefully designed lighting design of their live show. Behind this stands a real, personal interest of the band members in historic cinema. This has led the French 6 piece to create a stunning obituary-soundtrack for C. T. Dreyer’s 1932 movie “Vampyr” in 2013.

“We wanted this album to sound as organic and analog as possible”, comments the band. “All tracks were recorded live. The goal was to have the most natural, warm and clean takes possible, to give volume to the dynamics of the songs. We aimed to have a production with a singular personality”. For the adept listener, “Consolamentum” seems to be venturing deeper into the dark and claustrophobic spheres explored on “Tocsin” – but the band doesn't conceive of the evolution of their music in a linear way, as it would be apparent from looking at their discography. “It’s more a matter of sonic devotion. Music against modern times. Year Of No Light is above all a praxis. We wanted intensity, trance, climax and threat, all of them embedded in a bipolar and mournful ethos”. “Consolamentum” is huge, poignant, frightening, sublime, smothering and cathartic – and, much like its predecessor, audacious, memorable and supremely confident.

Tracklisting:

1. Objuration
2. Aletheia
3. Interdit aux vivants, aux morts et aux chiens
4. Realgar
5. Came