Mourir – Nous, le venin
Release Date: 10th July 2026
Label: Pelagic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Blackened Sludge, Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Black Metal, DSBM, Screamo.
FFO: Panzerfaust, Celeste, Downfall of Gaia, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Wiegedood, Plebian Grandstand.
Review By: Rick Farley
The French, sludgy black metal troupe Mourir return from the deep murk for album number two, Nous, le venin, being released via Pelagic July 10th, 2026. The Toulouse based quartet, originally formed in 2019 are a forward-thinking, uncompromising, raw but modern take on black metal forged in the inhospitable filth of noisy, post soundscapes. The elements of warped melody, sombre creepiness, and disgusting blackened nostalgia of unpolished essence melds everything into a reflection of its lunacy and rage. A completely agitated mindfuck of a record in the best way possible.
I don’t want to overstate the absurd eeriness of this record because there are definitive structures, melodies and musicality that isn’t entirely difficult to consume but Nous, le venin will definitely leave its mark on your tension/stress tolerance and then some. It’s extreme avant-black without going so far out there that it’s unlistenable. It draws masterfully from a balance of the exaggerated extremes of dissonance to also being rhythmic and engaging. Thick chunks of low-end lurk below tremolo picked guitar lines that twist and turn in sickening directions, while screechy growls and tormented screams sound utterly pained as they ring out into an atmospherically layered wall of distorted, noisy organised chaos. Sludge filled songwriting that is borderline doomy while still retaining the ferocity and sharpness of raw black metal. The post, airy elements offer a brief respite from the menace to a small degree but is far from just blank gazes of sounds, but rather more purposeful flourishes of demented melancholy meant to profoundly affect your senses and drive your nerves to a shattering. Hammering blast beats, searing tremolo guitar lines, and wailing shrieks are only a small part of this record being so effective in making you feel like you have lost yourself in a void of despair. Violence, brutality, sickness, shadowy discomfort, and depressive presence all keep you detached from reality. Truthfully, these are my favourite types of records that if you just let yourself go within its soundscape, the experience can be transcending. Records that can drive your emotions into the otherworldly deserved to be heard.
Instead of an overly lengthy review that really doesn’t say much of anything but the overuse of adjectives, I will attempt to entice you with this; Nous, le venin will leave you terrorized and broken but still melancholically hopeful that the absurdity of life isn’t just bleak, senseless cruelty “-a belief that something better is possible is woven throughout the melodic passages and most celestial, ecstatic elements of their sound.” All hope for the safety of your psyche, despite the extreme abrasiveness of this record is not all the way gone.
Mourir have offered us an album that will gleefully destroy your conscious mind, then attempt to rebuild it in its own wicked vision, whether that’s something you’re capable of fathoming and surviving is the question. Easy recommend for those that like the sound of insanity.
(4.5 / 5)
