Nyss offers a myriad of atmosphere, character, emotion, and storytelling on top of the black metal structure with Dépayser.
Release Date: May 7, 2019 | Avantegarde Music | Bandcamp | Facebook | Youtube | Label Merch
When I first listened to Dépayser my immediate thought was that it was just another black metal band. I actually almost gave up on the album after listening to just a few minutes of the first track, “Let the Devil in”. Luckily, I kept going. I was rewarded at around the six-minute mark with a nice shift in the song. This change-up gave me hope and I continued my journey through the album. I have since given the Nyss record a handful of spins and am enjoying it more and more with each subsequent listen.
To any English-only speakers (like me) Dépayser translates to ‘disorient’. I can safely say Nyss has delivered on the disorientation front. With intense black metal sections blending into narrations which then lead to beautiful, emotional pieces complete with the violin. There is a bit of everything packed into this four-track album. It should come without saying that this is no easy listen. It is not simply background music you can throw on casually. Listening requires attention and an open mind.
“Bitter Tears and Grave Dirt” is a stand out track and probably my favourite of the record. It starts out with a sorrow-ridden string section which leads to a bit of narration. The song then crashes into a manically paced full-blown metal section. From here it becomes a bit of a roller coaster. It clocks in at a measly 14 minutes (plus) so there’s a bit of time to allow the myriad of emotions and structure to shine. The ending fades out into an angelic swell of sound. I highly recommend just listening to this as my words cannot express it properly. I’ll conveniently leave the track here for your listening pleasure.
My own personal downfalls with Dépayser is the black metal portions. Admittedly I am not the biggest fan of this style of music. But I found some those parts dragged on a little long for my liking. However, Nyss did leave adequate rewards waiting for my ears to gobble up after making it through those parts though. Any fans of the genre in question will have no difficulties enjoying the parts I just mentioned. For those of you like me; patience is a virtue and is well rewarded here. It is always nice to have a change of heart when it comes to genres of music I had previously dismissed.
There is a true understanding of how repetition – when done right – can add immense depth to emotion and atmosphere. Nyss gave me a four-song album which transcended all of my preconceived thoughts on the black metal genre. Dépayser will continue to get many a listen on my end. What Nyss is able to offer you is dark story-telling through music. The songs contain genre-crossing passages all with enough room to breathe. Do not pass up on this album, it’s definitely worth a listen.
