L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante (French for The arrival of the triumphant dull death) is the fifth full-length studio album by Gnaw Their Tongues, released on September 7, 2010 by Burning World, Crucial Blast and Candlelight Records.[1][2] The album showcased a change in musical direction, with more emphasis on orchestration and lighter moods. The album also marked the last time Maurice de Jong recorded a Gnaw Their Tongues album using his old studio and computer setup. It received high marks from music critics, with PopMatters ranking it as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of the year.
| L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 7, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | January – April 2010 | |||
| Studio | De Bejaarde, Drachten, NL | |||
| Genre | Dark ambient, industrial, noise | |||
| Length | 44:49 | |||
| Label | Burning World/Crucial Blast/Candlelight | |||
| Gnaw Their Tongues chronology | ||||
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| Maurice de Jong chronology | ||||
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Background
editIn 2010, composer Maurice de Jong signed a record deal for a full-length with Candlelight Records for one year, with the option for extension.[3] Originally conceived as an EP, the album was expanded to meet Candlelight's contractual requirements.[4]
Music
editThe compositions of L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante saw de Jong adopting more dark ambient and orchestral influences into his music. Some critics noted that the music was more restrained and even solemn in contrast to Gnaw Their Tongues' previous work.[5][4] When asked about his approach to composing, De Jong said "The choirs were built from samples. They're chords, which I used to make my own melodies. The piano was played by myself. The cellos were recordings I did myself, but a friend played these parts. I used these parts as well to make new melodies. Basically it's always a mixture of real recordings and samples." He also elaborated that the music was representing "an abstract visual idea of death: white, silent and solemn."[6] Being composed around a concept, the music was the more planned out than any album previous.[3][7]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
Upon its release L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante was well received by critics, who praised the change of sound and broadening of musical scope. Music journalist Ned Raggett gave the album four out of five stars, favorably comparing the music to that of Swans, Neurosis, and Savage Republic and crediting Gnaw Their Tongues with "singlehandedly reviving orchestral/industrial composition styles from the end of the 1980s."[5] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters listed the album as being the eighteenth greatest heavy metal release of the year, saying "this album artfully meshes black metal, industrial, dark ambient, and even a touch of neoclassical, and comes up with something as beautiful as it is harrowing."[8] It also placed on NME's end of the year for "Best Cult/Experimental Albums", with John Doran saying, "[L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante] sounds like a full orchestra and black metal group being fed slowly into a meat grinder."[9]
Track listing
editAll music is composed by Maurice de Jong
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante" | 9:49 |
| 2. | "Les anges frémissent devant la mort" | 11:35 |
| 3. | "La mort dans toute son ineffable grandeur/Splendeur" | 8:12 |
| 4. | "Le chant de la mort" | 7:02 |
| 5. | "Le trône blanc de la mort" | 8:11 |
Personnel
editAdapted from the L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante liner notes.[10]
- Maurice de Jong (as Mories) – vocals, instruments, recording, mixing, mastering, cover art
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2010 | Burning World | LP | BWR007 |
| United States | Crucial Blast | CD | CBR78 | |
| United Kingdom | Candlelight | CANDLE321CD |
References
edit- ^ de Jong, Maurice (2011). "Releases: 2010". devotionalhymns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Nunziata, Francesco (November 12, 2010). "Gnaw Their Tongues: L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante" (in Italian). Onda Rock. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Perescis, Martin (December 2010). "Gnaw Their Tongues – Eat Your Greens, Especially Broccoli". Lords of Metal. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Perescis, Martin (October 2012). "Gnaw Their Tongues – The Usual Depravity of Course". Lords of Metal. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c Raggett, Ned. "Gnaw Their Tongues: L' Arrivée de la Terne Mort Triomphante > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Ramos, Octavio (September 20, 2010). "Take Five: An Interview with Gnaw Their Tongues". Examiner.com.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Apothecary (April 16, 2015). "Gnaw Their Tongues Interview". Metal Storm. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Begrand, Adrien (December 23, 2010). "The Best Metal Albums of 2010". PopMatters. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ Doran, John (December 20, 2010). "The Best Cult/Experimental Albums of 2010". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
- ^ L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante (booklet). Gnaw Their Tongues. Hagerstown, Maryland: Crucial Blast. 2010.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links
edit- L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante at Discogs (list of releases)
- L'arrivée de la terne mort triomphante at Bandcamp