BONJOUR TRISTESSE plays atmospheric black metal, that is rooted in contempt for industrial civilization, grief for this dying planet we call our home and reverence for the natural world. The band weaves a symphony of sadness, wrath, alienation and inner emptiness with a sense of strength that arises from unabashed resilience and standing alone in the face of adversity.
“The Enlightenment has always aimed at liberating men from fear and establishing their sovereignty. Yet the fully enlightened earth radiates disaster triumphant.” – Max Horkheimer & Theodor W. Adorno
The title of BONJOUR TRISTESSE’s latest album “Disaster Triumphant” is taken from this quote. Nathanael was heavily inspired by the “Dialectic of Enlightenment” by philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. They highlighted the double-edged nature of the Enlightenment, which, on the one hand, reined in superstition and religion, but on the other hand, subjected humanity and the natural world to entirely new constraints through technological progress, industrial civilization, the myth of human supremacy and the consequences of mass society.
The album cover by Abismo Black Arts also references this ambivalence that shapes our reality and aptly illustrates the core ideas of the “Dialectic of Enlightenment” and “Disaster Triumphant” alike. A critique of this “enlightened” yet thoroughly life-denying and nature-destroying “civilized” world underlies most songs on “Disaster Triumphant”. Other topics covered in the lyrics include meditations on loss, grief, melancholy, interpersonal feelings and the wish to retreat from a world, that is sinking deeper into chaos day by day.
Tracklist:
1. The Heights of Despair 2. At the Mountains of Silence 3. Tomb of Hope 4. Lingering in the Twilight of Shadows 5. Disaster Triumphant
Credits:
All songs written and performed by Nathanael. 'Disaster Triumphant' was recorded in MMXXII at Forester Recording Studio. Mixed and mastered by Nathanael and Max Forst. 'Lingering in the Twilight of Shadows' was written by Eklatanz (Heretoir) and Nathanael. Additional guitars on 'The Heights of Despair' by D.S. Coverartwork by Abismo Black Arts. Bandphotos taken by Sarah K. Inspired by: Henry D. Thoreau “Walden”, Daniel Quinn “Ishmael”, Fredy Perlman “Against Hisstory, Against Leviathan”, John Zerzan “Against Civilization” and Max Horkheimer & Theodor W. Adorno “Dialectic of Enlightenment”.
