MALEBESTE – MONESTHEROU

The album opens with the interlude 'Aigre Vinasse et Chaude Populace', a vivid and unsettling soundscape where overlapping voices recreate the restless chaos of everyday life. Church bells echo through the background while murmuring crowds slowly build a growing sense of tension, until the closing moments feel charged with agitation simmering beneath the surface of the populace.'Hautefaye 1870', seemingly inspired by the infamous Drama of Hautefaye, where Alain de Monéys was lynched and burned alive by a paranoid mob during the Franco-Prussian War, transforms that historical horror into something equally violent and suffocating. After a long, terrifying scream tears through the silence, blast beats crash down like a thunderstorm while sinister riffs drag the listener deeper into the song’s dark atmosphere. The vocals never lose their aggression or momentum, shifting seamlessly between icy ferocity, haunting melodic passages, and even slower, doom-laden moments that deepen the track’s oppressive weight. 'Palefroi du diable' opens with heavily dragging guitars and pounding drums, immediately setting a darker, more oppressive tone. Above it all, throat-ripping vocal screams spit with raw intensity, cutting through the dense atmosphere with venomous force. One of the track’s standout elements is the eerie sound lingering in the background, part darker voice, part atmospheric texture, adding extra layers of depth and unease to the mix. Compared to the previous tracks, the song also leans further into groove, giving its weight a slower, more hypnotic pull. 

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'Milouziena' which likely refers to Milouziena de Lusignan, a legendary variation of the mythical water spirit Mélusine ,a mysterious figure from French folklore tied to magic, rivers, and ancient curses thrives on its slow, dark storytelling atmosphere. The vocals carry a haunting narrative weight, their raspy delivery adding to the song’s oppressive and suffocating heaviness. A standout moment arrives in the bridge, where acoustic guitar lines briefly break through the darkness, while the vocals shift into a slightly cleaner yet still rough-edged tone. It’s a subtle change that deepens the track’s eerie and mystical character. The title track 'Monestherou' wastes no time on buildup, launching straight into a fierce black metal assault driven by crushing blast beats and a thick, commanding bass line. Amid the chaos, haunting melodic riffs weave through the aggression, giving the song a colder emotional depth. What makes the track especially powerful is the way it balances melancholy with defiance, the sound of exhaustion colliding with the will to keep moving forward through the darkness. The album draws to a close with 'Nocturne (Medley Acoustique)', a fully acoustic piece that stands in stark contrast to everything that came before. Stripped of vocals and distortion, it reveals a gentler, folk-tinged warmth carried by tender melodies and understated elegance. After a record built on harshness and intensity, this unexpected shift feels almost like a release, a soft exhale after the storm. It’s a quiet, thoughtful ending to a demanding journey, leaving behind a sense of calm closure.

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MALEBESTE delivers with Monestherou a fierce, atmospheric black metal debut that fuses raw aggression with haunting melody and folklore-soaked depth. Brutal yet emotionally rich, it balances icy intensity with moments of fragile beauty, closing on a surprisingly tender note that lingers long after the final sound fades.

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SCORE 9/10

REVIEWED BY SWAMPY