Decline of the I – Escape

[schema type=”review” name=”Decline of the I – Escape” description=”Label: Agonia Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2018-07-27″ ]

Decline Of The I is a French post-black metal band. They have released two records, “Inhibition” and “Rebellion” as part of a trilogy and third studio album “Escape” is the last part of this concept trilogy, which is inspired by the works of the French surgeon and philosopher Henri Laborit, whose works included brain studies. The lyrics and their hidden message play an important factor in the band’s music, which can be described as black metal with an adventurous edge and a wide range of musical influences, varying from electronic and industrial to orchestral elements. Is “Escape” a nice finish to the this trilogy? Let’s find out. 

From the beginning to the end, “Escape” radiates atmosphere and darkness. As with most records like these, the songs are quite long but not dull at all as the band manages to add diversity and progression to their style quite well. Furthermore, the concept that they deliver has a eerie vibe to it; since the album is partially in French, the listeners who know French will get to devour this piece a bit more. Nevertheless, I definitely got to enjoy the mystery of it and it got me even more curious about why they specifically chose this concept. Another highlight I enjoyed was how progressive the album got towards the end; the first half is focused more on the atmospheric side of their style whereas the second half focuses more on the post-BM side with the distinct vocals. That’s not it though, wait and see until the end as there is a nice surprise. Highlights and little aspects like these definitely make “Escape” a fine record to listen to. Personally, I don’t have a specific favorite as I think the album should be considered as a whole. However, depending on how you like your black metal (and how tolerant you are to the post-BM genre), you are either gonna love it or leave it…. so what’s it gonna be?

Album Line-up:
A – guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, programming, vocals
V – vocals
G – vocals
S – drums
Guest vocals on “Je Pense Donc Je Fuis” by Kyrieh Alienor.

Tracklist: 01. Disruption 02. Enslaved by Existence 03. Organless body 04. Hurlements en faveur de FKM 05. Negentropy (fertility sovereign) 06. Je pense donc je fuis

Links:
Decline of the I Facebook