Ok so this Atmospheric Black Metal album… it hits differently than I expected. Didn’t even know what I was walking into. I knew Hylgaryss was involved, so yeah, winter vibes were a given, but this thing feels more… bare? Not minimal, just kind of stripped of anything extra. It’s like he only kept the bones and whatever breath was left on them.
Obyana’s vocals bounce around between soft stuff and these sharp screams that don’t sound “performed,” more like she just let them out because that’s what the music needed right then. Some of the cleans almost drift off-key on purpose, which actually works because the whole record has that “nobody’s fixing this for you” energy.
Most of the music just moves forward without trying to impress anyone. Long melodic threads, some repetition, not the hypnotic kind but more like walking the same path again because that’s the only path. Drums come and go. Sometimes you notice them, sometimes you don’t until they suddenly crack open a section and it gets colder for a bit.
The winter + suicide concept is there, sure, but it’s not trying to be symbolic or poetic about it. Honestly, it sounds more like someone documenting their headspace than building a mythos. There’s a weird calmness to it. Not depressive BM theatrics - more like a tired kind of acceptance. No giant “emotional climax”, nothing resolves. It just keeps descending, but slowly.
Some parts blur together, but in a way that feels intentional. Or maybe not intentional - maybe that’s just how Hylgaryss writes. Hard to tell. Either way, it works. You put it on, and after a while, you stop thinking about “songs” and just notice that the room feels quiet and you’re not sure when that happened.
Anyway, for a debut album, this hits pretty dead-on. It feels like winter without the pretty postcard stuff. Just the cold that stays.
https://transcendance-bm.com/?s=SAINTE+OBYANA+DU+FROID
Thanks to Grand Sounds PR.