Amesoeurs

Amesoeurs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Profound Lore
• ASIN: B001UE9BA0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,620 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #69 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > France

Track Listings

1. Gas in Veins

2. Les Ruches Malades

3. Heurt

4. Recueillement

5. Faux Semblants

6. Trouble (Éveils Infâmes)

7. I XIII V XIX XV V XXI XVIII XIX - IX XIX - IV V I IV

8. Video Girl

9. La Reine Trayeuse

10. Amesoeurs

11. Au Crépuscule de Nos Rêves

Editorial Reviews

Formed by Neige and vocalist Audrey Sylvain in 2004, Amesoeurs' desolate, suffocating vision brims with negativity and despair. Those familiar with Neige's pedigree (Peste Noire, Mortifera, etc.) will recognize elements of harsh, melancholic Black Metal; the band also draws from elements of Post-Punk and '80s New Wave such as Joy Division, early Cure, and Depeche Mode. Here, Neige is backed by a band that includes the award-winning French filmmaker Fursy Teyssier of Les Discrets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs, May 15, 2009

By 

C. Loescher (Loves Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amesoeurs (Audio CD)

A kaleidoscopic soundtrack for the modern era; these are the words in the liner notes on the page opposite the band lineup (which, since the flawless Ruines Humaines EP, has expanded to contain secondary guitarist Fursy and drummer Winterhalter). A more apt description of the album as a whole I cannot conjure. Those familiar with Ruines Humaines will be familiar, though will not necessarily know what to expect, with Amesoeurs's first and apparently only full-length release.

Opener "Gas in Veins," easily the best instrumental starter track since Sentenced's "Kaamos," begins with a commanding bass line, expands into an epic, melancholic rock tune, and eventually explodes into spine-tingling post-black metal riffage. "Les Ruches Malades (The Sick Hives)," being the first song proper (and also heretofore only available on a split LP with Valfunde), piques interest and sparks amazement, as female vocalist Audrey's innocent, beautiful singing takes the foreground. Her rich, textured melodies are incredibly striking; the fact that all vocals are in French really add an exotic, comfortable vibe. As opposed to only a third of the Ruines Humaines material being fronted by Audrey (the mindblowing "Fiablesse Des Sens"), she gets to take the center stage on Amesoeurs, performing on six tracks, making instant classics not only of "Les Ruches Malades," but also of the awesome "Faux Semblants (Pretences)" and "Amesoeurs." It's only on four songs, "Recueillement (Meditation)," "Trouble - Eveils Infames (Disturbs - Infamous Awakenings)," and the phenomenal "Au Crepuscule de Nos Reves (In the Twilight of Our Dreams)," along with half of "La Reine Trayeuse (The Queen Milking Machine)," that Neige, mastermind of Amesoeurs and main songwriter/instrumentalist, lends his high-pitched scorching screams. This is exactly the path I was hoping Amesoeurs would take, vocally unbalanced as compared to Ruines Humaines, but switching back and forth between calm and calamity.

All the instrumentation on Amesoeurs is flawless; Neige's emotive and powerful guitar leads seamlessely meld the blissful black metal creations of Alcest (his black metal / shoegaze alterego) with elements of pop, post-rock, and new-wave, most notably The Cure and Depeche Mode. The bass, now handled by Neige also, is wonderfully alive and bubbly, an entity in and of itself, and a fantastic addition to the sound of the guitar melodies. Drumming is incredibly precise, and at the perfect pitch and treble for the material at hand, lending to both the sweeping black metal pieces and the pop sensibilities of the others. Niege and crew also experiment a little, clearly not satisfied with one layer of influence, interrupting Amesoeurs's middle with "I XIII V XIX XV V XXI XVII XIX - IX XIX - IV V I IV," a haunting track of lamenting piano within a deep cavernous echo, and ending the album with several minutes of a techno/industrial beat that could've come from Nine Inch Nails.

Anyone who misses this record will be missing out on one of the best musical creations of this decade. It is truly a crushing shame that this appears to be the last creation by Amesoeurs, though I for one will eternally hope that Neige's Alcest begins leaning once again towards their black metal roots, and that Audrey is invited to do some guest vocals. Until then, Amesoeurs will be one of my desert-island CDs and will undoubtedly remain so for a very long time.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, melancholic, January 29, 2011

By 

Jane G. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amesoeurs (MP3 Download)

Black metal fans may not like this album as the music is not completely black metal. To be rather broad, this is definitely a rock album, and there is some screaming and some harder spots, but most of the music is tame compared to most black metal. (However, to truly appreciate the music on this album, one should not be concerned about genre or how the band compares to other bands; one must try to appreciate the music in itself.) In my opinion, the dark and melancholic sound is quite beautiful. If you need any further explanations about the sound, just listen to the samples.

As stated above,the prevailing mood of the album is dark, melancholic, and - at times - desperate. And as C. Loescher states in his (or her?) review, the band switches back and forth between calm and calamity - in good amounts, of course, so as to not overdo it.

The band's purpose was to express the feelings that result from the difficulty of finding happiness in a modern, industrialized era, and this is evident through the beautiful, tragic imagery and expressiveness of their lyrics. The female vocals are soft and innocent, and the vocalist does sing in French. Not being able to understand the lyrics did not hurt my appreciation of the album the first time I listened to it because I could sense the feelings the band was trying to convey anyway, but if you don't speak French and are curious about what the words mean, you can find pretty good translations online (such as here: [...]).

The first time I listened to this album was a little over a year ago and I was unsure whether or not to purchase it. I listened to the samples and liked what heard. After I bought and listened to the whole album, I instantly fell in love. Of all the songs from this album, I like Video Girl, Les Ruches Malades, Faux Semblants, and Au Crépuscule de Nos Rêves the most.

Please listen to the samples. If you don't like the samples, you probably won't like the album.

1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I just don't get it..., January 12, 2011

By 

fredw138 "fredw138" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amesoeurs (Audio CD)

Just as hardcore bros and scene kids are doing some damage to the death metal scene with "deathcore," it seems pretentious indie hipsters are doing their fair share to ruin black metal. It seems that nowadays, it is all the rage to cut and paste drastically different musical styles in order to make a band more "unique," when in reality, it just comes across as a bland mishmash of "done it before" tripe. People seem to forget that what made bands such as Opeth, Emperor, or Enslaved so unique was not that they slapped together a bunch of unrelated styles of music, but that they took an existing genre and radically improved upon it with their own unique vision.

So now, onto my review of Amesoeurs. The general concept seems to be to mix Joy Division-esque post-punk with the raw, cold atmosphere and harshness of black metal. The end result is some of the most boring music I've ever heard. The female singer can't keep pitch to save her life, and her voice lacks any semblance of passion. While some may argue this is the post-punk influence, it just doesn't seem sincere. With Joy Division's Ian Curtis, we had a man on the brink of suicide, who's dull presence in the lyrics provides a grim view into a man's inner despair. With this, like much modern indie music trying to sound like Joy Division, it just seems contrived and uninspired. Also, the few parts that seem reminiscent of black metal are just too simplistic to be exciting. So, much like Wolves in the Throne Room (another band that does nothing for me), we just wind up with another bland indie rock record with some black metal sensibilities. In fact, I suspect that indie fans will like this more than metal fans, simply because of the non-metal aspects of the music.

Now, the reason I gave this album 2 stars is because they do clearly have some talent. It just feels like an uninspired attempt to be original without actually being original.