ERYN NON DAE „Meliora”

Music: avant-garde/experimental/progressive metal
Website: www.erynnondae.com
Country: France
Time: 58:00 (7 songs)


Good titles: Chrysalis, Scarlet Rising, Hidden Lotus, Ignitus, The Great Downfall

Eryn Non Dae. This band got my attention since their debut album „Hydra Lernaia”. As I kept listening to “Hydra” from time to time throughout the months following its release I started noticing and hearing rumors that these gentlemen from France are going to be in the studio once again. Every rumor has a seed of truth in it. In the end that's how “Meliora” has risen!

When I hit the Play button for the first time I felt like a kid opening a Christmas present – I totally didn't know what to expect. Since “Hydra” I already knew that the next album won't be the same but probably even better! Squad from France once again showed off its talent.
Freshness, heaviness, progression, chaos, dark atmosphere and originality. These are just a few words you could briefly describe this album with. Why only briefly? Because on this album quintet from Touluse greatly expanded a musical meaning of each of those words. The length of songs only empowers each of the emotions which we naturally produce as we listen to the sounds of their music. They are not one of those three-minute songs which make you bored after few listens or so called „hits”, but long, atmospheric and heavy titles slowly rolling over your ears. I sacrificed a lot time listening to “Meliora” over and over just to put all the sounds and emotions together. The album is extremely progressive, filled up with different themes and heavy riffs containing very dark tone as well as the incredible drum works, of which sounds were all over my ears. Non-standard rhythms and changing over time atmosphere of music didn't allow me to headbang in one steady motion. The feeling of being lost in sounds and emotional stadium while listening to Eryn Non Dae is awesome; you can feel the power then just wait for any kind of chorus or epic riff.
Fact: “Meliora” is one of those hard to listen to albums, especially during the first try it's really hard to catch any kind of sense within the music – it's a one huge, experimental artistic chaos. The shortest song is about five and half minutes long, the longest is twelve. I would recommend to find an hour of free time to go through the whole album. It's not one of those releases where you can stop listening and get back to it in any other moment. I know what I'm saying because once you'll play “Meliora” it will be really hard to stop. I wouldn't even skip the songs because all of them are a one big theme of coldness, darkness, heaviness and a house for different emotions. I like how the songs are constructed as well as the whole album which has atmospheric beginning, chaotic epicenter and again atmospheric ending.
„The Great Downfall” is a twelve minute long masterpiece which gave me shivers. If we're talking about the end of everything, coldness and darkness – that's the song you'll like. One of my personal favorites is „Chrysalis”. This kick-off song from the album represents everything new that Eryn Non Dae brings to the new album. It sounds fresh, it's filled up with new colors of thier sound with a very climatic intro, a great riff, bass line and drums. Vocals as always give me shivers with its deepness and force.I would consider „Scarlet Rising” and „Ignitus” the fastest pieces from the release and at the same time the heaviest. They've created an awesome „boom” in the middle of the album's playlist. After that, “Meliora's” structure is coming back to focus on the atmosphere and ending within „Hidden Lotus”.

I could go on and on about new release of these Frenchmen, review song after song, minute after minute of each. There's so much going on here, that it's even hard to gather the simplest thoughts about it. Tons of sounds and arrhythmic changes. By just looking at the album's artwork it can be figured out that this is not a repetition of something that we already heard from Eryn Non Dae. Long story short: I give it a ten!

note: 10/10

Tracklist

1. Chrysalis
2. The Great Downfall
3, Scarlet Rising
4. Ignitus
5. Muto
6. Black Obsidian Pyre
7. Hidden Lotus

Line-up

Mathieu B. Nogues – vocals
Franck Quintin – guitar, vocals
Yann Servanin – guitar
Mickaël André – bass
Julien Rufié – drums