Band:	Gnaw Their Tongues / Déhà
Album:	Rituel Des Ancêtres
Style:	Drone, Noise, Experimental black metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Gnaw Their Tongues - The Sacrificial Dance
02. Déhà - Ritual Action Of The Ancestors

Now THIS is the type of symphonic metal I crave!

It is difficult for me to quickly sum up how much Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring means to me. It is a ballet and orchestral concert written in 1913. But it wasn’t until the late 90s I had the pleasure to experience it for the first time. It wasn’t at a theater though; I was home. The VHS of Fantasia, Disney’s second full length movie from 1940, played on the bigass TV we had in the living room. The juxtaposition of the avantgarde classical composition with the violent animation depicting primitive life on Earth and the carnage of dinosaur survival left a huge impression on 7-year-old me. It was at that moment I knew music would play a big role in my life.

Due to the above, it shouldn't be surprising that the news of Gnaw Their Tongues and Déhà working on an avantgarde black metal split inspired and dedicated to this classical masterpiece would excite me like no other thing this year. I tried my very best to keep my expectations low, because there is no way for these two projects to come anywhere near the brilliance behind Igor Stravinsky’s work. But oh boy, they sure did a fantastic job trying, I gotta admit that!

The pagan, dissonant horror portrayed by The Rite Of Spring is very suitable for Gnaw Their Tongues’s style. With this interpretation, under the name “The Sacrificial Dance”, Mories goes far more bombastic and grand with his sound palette. At the same time, there is much less distortion and layering involved if one were to compare it to the rest of Gnaw Their Tongues' catalogue. It is a well thought-out decision, because the fascinating melodies of the original ballet soar high and mighty amidst the creeping black metal riffs, disturbing basslines and unhinged drum programming. For the uninitiated, “The Sacrificial Dance” might be a surprisingly adequate introduction to Mories’ work. The less distorted approach makes his songwriting more approachable, but no less effective. As somewhat of a Mories veteran, I found great joy in seeing him try something new while keeping the core of his identity intact.

As for Déhà, his song “Ritual Action Of The Ancestors” is a good example of how two different approaches serve to create a solid, whole body of work, which is a vital criteria for an ideal split in my opinion. The references to The Rite Of Spring are much more subdued this time around. The darkly elegant tone of Gnaw Their Tongues’s song finds contrast with Déhà's more hateful and vile atmosphere. The haunting shrieks and horrifying low growls create a sense of vertigo as the alarming riffs run amok. I feel a blood-chilling fanaticism pouring out of this man’s voice, especially when he pulls off those crazy chants. For a 20-minute track, it is insane how fast time flies when this song is played. Every section has its place and the way it all culminates in a fiery, gargantuan crescendo is nothing short of breathtaking.

I would love to witness this type of work in a real orchestral setting. Gnaw Their Tongues and Déhà have done a wonderful thing here. When people think of symphonic metal they really ought to think more about music of this type. Melodious, complex, defiant and dark.