I was looking forward to this release with great anticipation. Not only because I really like this band but also because “The Renaissance Of Hope” that preceded it three years ago, left me with mixed feelings. In the end, Décembre Noir’s fifth full-length album might be their best, since it’’ right up there with 2018’s excellent “Autumn Kings”.
The German band’s style of music has always been based on atmospheric doom/death metal, but also having some songs in which they upped the pace by going towards melodeath paths. Mostly though, their characteristic was the slow rhythms. Here they balance these two identities, with the result that “Your Sunset | My Sunrise” moves between doom/death and melodic death styles. Details one will say. Labels are there to understand what Décembre Noir is, but beyond that what matters is the music. And on this point, the band gets an A in this category.
Whichever of the two styles they move in, the result does them justice. For example, songs like “Against The Daylight” and its title track can serve as a tutorial on how to compose melodic death metal. The Germans have excellent riffs and fantastic melancholic melodies, which are just as they should be, i.e. without becoming cheesy. The vocals, as always, are only in death shades with the only exception of a few recitations. And the icing on the cake is the strong and clean production that raises the final result even higher.
For which Alexander Dietz, guitarist of the titans Heaven Shall Burn, was responsible for recording, mixing and mastering, something he has been doing consistently for the band since their first album. So how you characterize them, then, matters little. “Your Sunset | My Sunrise” is something I highly recommend to any fan of melodic extreme metal, in general. In a year in which there has again been some great music coming out, Décembre Noir’s new work is easily in the top five on my list so far.
