CONJONCTIVE – Misère de Poussière
Reviewed by: Shell Dahlia
Review Score: 8.5
I seem to be getting blown away at most shows and festivals I attend lately by a female vocalist making the crowd their puppets, captivating them with their beauty then pummeling their minds with their brutality. Being a long time female metal show goer, this certainly makes me extremely proud and happy. This is why Conjonctive caught my eye when it came to choosing my next album to review and Sonia Kaya is exactly that, extremely talented and beautiful, yet terrifying. She fronts Conjonctive alongside Randy, giving the band a great vocal dynamic, creating a wide vocal range and balance.
The band formed in Switzerland in 2007 releasing their debut album ‘Until The World Dies’ which is the sort of album that is raw and makes you fall in love with a band instantly. This was proven as it gained them a lot of attention and solid support slots. They also gained recognition for one of their tracks ‘Somnambulant Cannibal,’ receiving awards at the M4Music awards for demo of the year and the most promising Swiss rock song of 2014. They then released their second full length album which demonstrated evolution as a band. Both albums had a touch of symphonic production which worked really well.
After a seven year break between album due to line up changes and a break between 2019-2020, they have returned with a new line up and a new album ‘Misère de Poussière’ to be released on the 22/11/24. The band decided to strip back the production on this album and keep the focus on the musicianship itself and I applaud them as this is by far their best album to date. The band has always managed to produce a very unique sound which captures all of my favourite parts of each genre they grab from. The darkness of black metal, the melodies of melodic and the blast beats, deep gutturals and energy of death metal which in my opinion is an audible feast fit for the Lord of Darkness himself. Even though the symphonic production has been cut out, the technicality of the musicianship is the main attraction and needs no extra frills and sparkle, it is by far the best recording, mixing and mastering out of all three albums. The sound is thick, crushing, enchanting and accomplished.
The band explains that poussière means dust and the lyrics reflect the idea that we all return to dust in the end and that everything is forgotten over time. One of the many relatable macabre themes that run throughout the album. Their home town provided them with the perfect arid landscape for their title track film clip, in the stone pits in the mountains of Switzerland, which couldn’t be more perfect for their title track message being conveyed on the song.
Discovering bands like this makes me feel extremely blessed and humbled to be able to cast my opinion on new music being released by bands. This is truely a marvellous discovery indeed and I urge everyone to check out this latest masterpiece by Conjonctive, it is an absolute joy to listen to.
Conjonctive Is
Sonya – vocals
Randy – vocals
Raphaël – guitar
Yannick – guitar
Guido (formerly ‘Near Death Condition’) – drums