Kreationist - Dans L’Interminable

Angry Metal Guy

And so, dear reader, my world tour of poetry-inspired metal continues. This week sees me moving from 13th century Persia and Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī to 19th century Paris and poster boy of fin de siècle poetry, Paul-Marie Verlaine. Dans L’Interminable is the debut full-length from Belgian one-man kinda black metal project Kreationist. Where first EP, Indulgence, took its lyrical themes from Arthur Rimbaud’s works, this record sees us moving to Rimbaud’s lover and fellow decadent symbolist Verlaine. Kreationist main only man Vidi says his “songwriting is based on atmosphere, not riffs … I will use whatever it takes to make the song flow and the words come across. Limiting yourself to one single music genre or style would significantly narrow down the different forms a song can take.” And to where does Vidi’s flow and take us?

Mixing styles ranging from black metal and doom, through post-metal and into trip-hop and noise, one certainly can’t deny Kreationist‘s experimental bent. As the record’s heavier sections move between something approaching pummelling second wave black metal and a more symphonic, Cradle of Filth-like sound (“Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur”), so its lighter parts weave a path between progressive post-metal (“Walcourt”) and synth-driven electronic not-quite-pop (“Soleil Couchants”). These seemingly disparate elements are woven together on Dans L’Interminable with some skill, such that the component parts, while distinct and indeed distinctive, flow together in a way that does not sound nearly as janky and disjointed as it should.

Dans L’Interminable by KREATIONIST
Vidi wasn’t kidding when he said he didn’t focus on writing riffs, but he can certainly handle a guitar and occasional breakout melodic leads, like on “Colloque Sentimental,” push the guitars above the swirling sea of electronica, samples and post-metal ambience. Kreationist‘s black metal tendencies are probably closest to something like Damnation and a Day-era Cradle of Filth, smashing into the polarising sound of Dødheimsgard‘s 666 International. Around the fringes plays the experimental electronic noise of Endon and what I would call the back-end filler on Zeal & Ardor‘s Strange Fruit, the likes of “You Ain’t Coming Back,” “Coagula” and “Stranger Fruit.” Coupled with Vidi’s gruff, not-quite-a-rasp-but-would-I-call-that-a-bark-? vocal style, and occasional contributions of clean female vocals from Flicka (“Colloque Sentimental”), it makes for a slightly curious overall listening experience. I have to confess that I am not a fan of the vocals, which to these ears sound strained and lacking in power. This might be alleviated slightly if I spoke French to any decent standard, as the lyrics are mostly distinguishable, just not (to me) understandable.

There is something not quite right there about Dans L’Interminable that I struggle to put my finger on. As I said, the widely varying styles and sounds are actually interwoven well and on a few tracks, like the standout goth-tinged “Colloque Sentimental” and eerie, synth-driven “Walcourt,” it all comes together to generate a melodic industrial-tinged post-metal sound that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, Kreationist‘s efforts across the record as a whole are somewhat uneven. The heavier, black metal elements in particular largely fail to land. I assume the intention was to offer a version of what Zeal & Ardor does, where moments of blackened fury punctuate the other elements but the impact of these sections is lessened significantly by the production choices. The mixing, in particular, puts the vocals way too far forward in the heavy sections, leaving the drums and guitars in a kind of muffled background. This is not the case across the album as a whole, however, with the more experimental noise and synth dominated tracks (the likes of “Extase Langoureuse” and “Interlude”) sounding pretty decent, with a thick, rich sound and just enough static fuzz around the edges.

Overall, I found Dans L’Interminable to be a frustrating listen. I can see, I think, what Kreationist is going for and on paper, I’m a fan. Indeed, for much of the album, I’m a fan (the distorted tremolos of “La Bonne Chanson XI” being another standout moment, in addition to those mentioned above) but the overall experience is uneven and a little muted. There are large sections of the record where the sound simply doesn’t ‘pop,’ for want of a better word. I think this is driven by a combination of the production and, to a degree, the songwriting when it comes to the black metal elements, which need to be more wanton, decadent and debauched—very much in the fin de siècle style—to better punctuate the ambient stylings of the rest of the record, something Kreationist hits briefly at the back end of “Soleils Couchants.” There is undeniable talent and promise here but there is also work to do.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 282 kbps mp3
Label: I, Voidhanger Records
Websites: i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dans-linterminable | facebook.com/Kreationist-351179551895511
Releases Worldwide: November 26th, 2021

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