Cendre is a crusher. The French sludge scene has always been surprisingly rich, and it feels like the scene has only continued to mutate as the years condemn. Cerbere is one of the most interesting newcomers to emerge from the Paris scene, and their unique brand of blackened sludge is addictive and borderline terrifying. They have a really deep sense of the glorious darkness that this music can have and garnish a monochromatic black metal aesthetic with streaks of stoner doom green. It's a thrilling blend of ideas rarely done these days.
Cerbere shine because of how bleak their music can get. Cendre is three tracks playing out over 45 minutes, but the music rarely feels boring. Instead when the band really start grooving, as they do on "Sale Chien" they have an almost Yob-esque ability to rock with it. The end result is music that is thrilling, dynamic and emotionally pulverizing. It's hard not to be charmed by the breadth and vision that they bring to the table and stun listeners with time and time again. Cendre bring a depth of knowledge and power to the table that is going to keep you engaged, simply because they are masters of their craft and not afraid to let you know it by using crippling volume.
The blackened sludge scene may not have had a lot of movement in recent years, but the pained utterances of Cerbere are guaranteed to invoke your curiosity. The band leans into an older idea of what doom should be, kvlter than kvlt and unapologetically dark. By bringing in the black metal elements they are able to keep these grim invocations true to their roots and have listeners reveling in the murk, desperate to hear more and thrilled by the titanic darkness that Cerbere so flawlessly use in order to keep the darkness alive in our hearts.
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