Bonjour Tristesse - Disaster Triumphant

Bonjour Tristesse is a black metal band from Germany, who formed in 2008. Their latest album, “Disaster Triumphant,” is their fifth full-length album.  This album's sound could be described as post-black or even, at least to some extent, depressive.  

However, at least from my perspective, this album is one borne out of sadness and longing more than hate, suicide and misanthropy. Throughout the album's very melancholic but also very dense sound, I feel an overwhelming loss—but also a certain understanding of one's desires and true nature.  The scope of the music is grand and expansive but in a subtle way. There isn't any twist, turns or surprises. In that respect, it is a focused album and one of great finality. The music is a muted storm of deep grays and dim light that just swarms over, covering all the sights and sounds with its perpetual rain.

I have also come to discover its beauty.  There is something about the melodies and extended passages of riffs that have a certain ‘warmness’ to them despite the presentation.  It’s emotional and an absolute heart wrenching album but it is still aesthetically pleasing on some primal level.  It’s hard to explain but such is the album’s depth.

The first minute of “The Heights of Despair,” should be enough to convince the most cynical of black metal fans.  The way the riffs hang in the atmosphere like a dead static while still moving and forming to desperate whims is surprisingly catchy in a way that I didn’t expect.  The vocals are on point with the shrieks that don’t sound overly high pitched and are settled into the mix perfectly.  

This song, as with the others minus the interlude “Lingering in the Twilight of Shadows,” is long but moves like one single movement of a dark symphony.  Nothing is jarring with sudden transitions.  Just close your eyes, open your mind, and let this one permeate your entire being.

Although I wouldn’t call this album aggressive per say, there are times when it can get harrowing.  The style of riffs on “At the Mountains of Silence,” and the accompanying raw vocal performance makes this song a little more intense than the others at times.  Around the 6:25 mark, blast beasts rip through the clouds like a meteor coming down.  It’s followed by a truly outstanding passage that pulls on the heart string so much that it might even be dangerous to one’s health.  

Likewise, “Tomb of Hope,” kicks the tempo up a notch or two around the 4:26 mark with a powerful scream and more devastating drums.  This is the band at their best, when the drums are furious, but the rest of the music stays dismal.  It’s a contrast that works more than it might seem on paper.  The drumming from this point onward is energetic and chaotic—this mixture, this swirl of emotions, is one of the many elements that makes this album so powerful.

The title track closes out the album and has the longest run time at nearly 12 and a half minutes.  If there was ever a song meant for the descriptor “dirge” then it is this one.  Everything about the album culminates in this final act and I can hear it in the vocals as they claw and scrap for survival.  The melodies are perfect, gentle in a way that compliments the guitars but also heavy in their own right as they add another suffocating layer.  

Bonjour Tristesse’s “Disaster Triumphant,” is indeed a triumphant album in this particular style of black metal.  It isn’t for everyone, but good music never is.   For those who can embrace the sights and sounds contained within, a journey, however stark, is ready and it is one I absolutely recommended.  As we get closer to closing out the year, this is one of my favorite black metal albums heard in the second half. 

Rating: Excellent