Cepheide/Les Échappées/Les Acteurs de L'Ombre Productions/2021 Full Length Review

 

  France's  solo  project  Cepheide  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  an  atmospheric  style  of  post  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2021  album  "Les  Échappées"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Les  Acteurs  de  L'Ombre  Productions.

  Raw  tremolo  picking  starts  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Vocals  are mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  post  metal  elements.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  songs  also  giving  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  when  they  are  utilized.

  One  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  slide  guitars  along  with  a  lot  of  the  vocals  also  being mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,    clean  playing  and  melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  song.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  the  emotional  responses  from  the  body  in  its  multiple  impulses.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Cepheide  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  post  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Le  Sang"  and  "Les  Cris".  8  out  of  10.

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Time Lurker/Cepheide/Les Acteurs de I'Ombre Productions/2019 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  France's  Time  Lurker  and  Cepheide  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Les  Acteurs  de  I'Ombre  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the review  with  Time  Lurker  a  solo  project  who  returns  with  his  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  dark  soundscapes  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  and  all  of  his  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  melodic  style  along  with  the  first  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  deep  growls  are  also  added  onto  the  second  track.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  human  nature  along  with  some  inspirations  from  the  writings  of  Jules  Verne  and  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Time  Lurker  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "No  One  Is  Real".

  Next  up  is  Cepheide   a  duo  that  returns  with  their  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  slow  and  dark  sound  while  their  only  track  is  almost  20  minutes  in  length.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  track  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  depressive  black  metal  screams.

  A  lot  of  the  vocals  are  also  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  which  also  gives  the  guitar  sound  more  powerful.  Throughout  their  side  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  along  with  the  guitar  leads  also  adding  in  more  of  a  melodic  post  rock  style,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics a re  written  in  French  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cepheide  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  atmospheric  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

TIME LURKER Facebook // TIME LURKER Bandcamp

CEPHEIDE Facebook // CEPHEIDE Bandcamp

       

    

Cepheide/Respire/2015 EP Review

  Cepheide  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015 ep   "Respire".

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  atmospheric  elements  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  drums  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  leads  up  to  more  of  a  fast  and  raw  black  metal  style  that  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  depressive  screams  and  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  band  also  brings  in  elements  of  cascadian  and  post  black  metal  and  there  are  also  some  guitar  riffs  that  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  when  synths  are  utilized  they  enhance  the  atmospheric  elements  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  last  track  starts  out  in  an  ambient  direction  before  making  a  return  back  to  more  of  a  raw  and  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal.

  Cepheide  continue  the  modern  style  of  atmospheric  black  metal that  they  had  establish on  the  previous  recording  and  create  2  very  diverse  and  epic  tracks  that  combine  atmospheric,  post  and  cascadian  black  metal  together  while  another  song  goes  for  an  ambient  style  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cepheide  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal, you  should  check  out  the  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "I  Le  Souffle  Brulant  de  I'llmmacule".  8  out  of  10.  

http://cepheide.bandcamp.com/album/respire  

Cepheide Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We're four 25 years old guys from paris.
The line up is drums, bass, two guitarists including a singer.
The project began there almost a year ago now!

2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe your musical sound?

We self-produced this album because we wanted to build it as we imagined, from the compositions to the final sound we have on tape.

We seek to recreate what we do in our rehearsals in paris.
So we recorded in the same studio where we played for a year no, without guitar overdub and without artifice
The overall sound of this demo is very raw and blurry and that's how we see our compositions because the general atmosphere gives another sense to the different melodies.

3.The band was formed early this year but have already released their first album, do you feel that you put a lot of time and effort into the band?

We took the time to choose some songs, and to keep the others depending on the future of the project.
For this demo, we chose the first 4 songs we made as a band, but in a year of work we were able to prepare other compositions for other future projects.
We expected to be ready to release this demo, but also to have enough material not to lower the pace.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with their music?

there is no fixed subject, or something that we are prohibited.
There is a lot of work on the texts. They are written so that even detached from the music, it is balanced and has a true sense.
They are written in rhyme, as a a poem or prose.
Although for the moment the lyrics are not in booklet or accessible, know that we are looking up for each piece to create more something like text on a music than song lyrics.

For the tracks of this demo, DELUGE is about changing role, depending on the situation between two people in the current society and A LA CROISEE DES AMES deals with the influence of society on the way we think but another track is talking about transformation of the sun.
It is each time different subjects, but each time they are topics that we believe timely

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cepheide'?

Since we are french and that all texts are also written in french, we wanted to find a french word that was connected to the general atmosphere of our songs and that at the same time evoked the recurring theme of astronomy

6.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

We will surely make live shows before the next album, but for the moment nothing is confirmed

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

From now on we had to work without label and we produced and recorded this demo alone. We are not really searching for a label but we'll think about it when the time comes.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of atmospheric black metal?

The project comes out of the shadows and we are not looking to do a lot of promo, however we had a lot of very positive and encouraging feedback, a lot of support which was not expected, so we were pleasantly surprised that people to be receptive to our vision of black metal!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We all have parallel projects so when we formed this band the aim was to make every effort to do our best, we will see what will be the result of this!

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We are four so there are very diverse backgrounds.
We can say that the main influential band are ASH BORER , ARS DIAVOLI , URFAUST , ELECTRIC WIZARD , DRUDKH ,GODSPEED YOU…

what are you listening to nowadays ? … hexis , the psyke projet , woods of désolation , Deathspell Omega , Solstafir , Russian Circle , Converge …

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

there is a great fascination for wine, the way that it oldens.
a great interest in cinema which sharpens our thinking in another form of art equally wide
Astronomy is also omnipresent. It has directly inspired us our cover, the title of some songs and the way to write texts



12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

leave the imagination to what we listen

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Cephheide/De Silence Et De Suie/2013 CD Review

  Cepheide  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "De  Silence  Et  De  Suite".

  A  very  raw  and  mid  paced  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  high  pitched  depressive  screams  being  added  into  the  music  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  to  the  band  speeding  up  a  bit  and  adding  in  blast  beats  and  you  can  hear  an  atmospheric  sound  being  utilized  in  the  background  as  well  as  the  music  adding  in  more  melody.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  being  utilized  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  elements  of  post  rock  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  band  also  seems  to  be  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  cascadian  style  of  black  metal  which  they  also  mix  in  with  a  more  depressive  sound.

  On  a  few  of  the  songs  the  band  cuts  back  on  the  vocals  and  lets  the  instruments  take  over  for  awhile  and  it  also  shows  a  more  raw  approach  to  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  adding  in  a  more  aggressive  and  heavy  approach  and  ignoring  some  of  the  lighter  elements  of  their  American  counterparts.

  Cepheide  create  an  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  that  seems  to  be  heavily  rooted  in  the  American  cascadian  sound  but  done  in  a  more  fast,  raw  and  depressive  manner,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  when  they  are  used  are  written  in  French  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cepheide  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  la  Croisee  Des  Ames"  and  "Deluge".  8  out  of  10.

http://cepheide.bandcamp.com