Au bord du précipice - Contemplation (2025)
Matthieu Ducheine records as Contemplation and blends doom and death metal with dub-inspired production techniques and long, gorgeous passages of melodic violin and acoustic guitar.
“Post-metal” is as good a tag as any for something like this that doesn’t really exist in a genre but has fingerprints of several disparate styles.
Heavy reverb on the drums and down-tuned bass lines sit wonderfully under both the clean sections and the raging, bottomless gloom of the louder parts.
Sometimes one-man metal bands sound like a school project, with instruments mixed unevenly and not much cohesion. That couldn’t be further from the truth for Ducheine’s work. It’s rock solid, with great nuance in the mix and no obvious tics to make you aware that it’s one guy multi-tracking over himself.
It’s a really impressive achievement that’s worth a listen if you’re even vaguely interested in heavy music.
