Search - Elend :: Les Ténèbres du Dehors

Very serious dark non-rock music for metal lovers and others

Ilya Malafeyev | Russia | 07/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Considering unique nature of this great band and its fame only in certain European underground circles, an introduction would be in order. Elend are a Franko-Austrian band that plays music that is best described as classical instrumentation with harsh black-metal screams and deep gothic chants. The dark nature of their music is hard to surpass, and I find them more horrifying and dark than any black or death metal band. The line-up consists of violin and synth players Alexandre Hasnaoui and Renaud Tschimer, who also do all composing, arrangements and structuring work; and a female soprano. Eve Gabriel Siskind, who did female vocals on their debut, also did several tracks here. But due to her inability to dedicate more time to the band, she was replaced halfway through recording session by a professional opera singer Nathalie Barbary (but the picture on the cover is that of Eve).



"Les Tenebres Du Dehors" is the 2nd album by Elend, and the 2nd in their trilogy of records called "Officium Tenebrarum", which is Elend's twisted view on what used to be a medieval Roman-Catholic 3-night-long mass before Easter. Religious issue is strong in the lyrics. Hasnaoui continues the story of the 1st album, centered around the figure of rebellious Supreme Angel Lucifer. But Hasnaoui's view is different from traditional christianity, in that he depicts Lucifer refusing to take the name "Satan" thus refusing to become a part of God's plan. This is a tale of a search for personal identity that is continued on the last part of the trilogy, the band's next album "The Umbersun".



Building on the foundation laid by their 1994 debut "Lecons De Tenebrae", Elend twist their music somewhat. Alongside soothing violin passages and heavenly female choirs there's a big part of musical violent chaos, which the band manages to create with wild string passages and dominating organ and synth orchestra parts. There's not a single sound of a guitar, or bass, or percussion. This CD is much more harsh and frightening than the debut. The dual faces of music interchange through careful arrangements, making overall sound very complex and quite hard to grasp with just several listens. Elend's music demands full attention. Comparing to their self-financed debut, this record truly benefits from a bigger budget.



The issue that I own comes in a digipack, which has all the original graphics, but pictured in red tones, as opposed to the original 1996 issue that was blue. The tracklist is:

1. Nocturne

2. Ethereal Journeys

3. The Luciferian Revolution

4. Eden (The Angel in the Garden)

5. The Silence of Light

6. Antienne

7. Dancing under the Closed Eyes of Paradise

8. Birds of Dawn (an excellent bonus track melding perfectly with the original material)

9. Les Tenebres du Dehors



A special touch in the lyrics brochure is that it includes some stunning graphic artwork by such famous people as Leonardo da Vinci, Victor Hugo, Albrecht Durer, and Gustave Dore. These graphics add to the lyrical content and help the listener to experience the music.



All over the vast field of modern music, I find Elend to be the most unique and impossible to classify band. I do not guarantee you're going to like this record. But I bet my lifetime income you haven't heard anything like this."

Dark and beautiful

Ilya Malafeyev | 08/31/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really love this cd! The dark layers of synth, the sad sad violin and calming voices just takes you away into some strange state of sadness, but with a certain beauty also. In contrast to the other 2 cd's by Elend, this one is more calm and not as Powerful musically as the others, but just beautiful as hell and powerful in another way."