2024 marked the beginning of the collaboration between I, Voidhanger Records, and DIONYSIAQUE. The French band’s debut album, “Diogonos,” centered on the mythological figure of Dionysus and received rave reviews and support from both the press and metal maniacs.
Two years later it’s time for the sophomore album, “La Tourbe Des Rêves” (The Peat of Dreams), once again recorded completely live and destined to confirm DIONYSIAQUE among the best exponents of the most ferocious, primordial and thrash-tinged doom metal around today. While remaining utterly narrative in its execution, “La Tourbe Des Rêves” is not to be seen as a conceptual work, despite its strong political stance against fascism. “Aaron” pays tribute to the late Aaron Bushnell, a young American marine who immolated himself by fire, in front of an Israeli embassy, to protest against the genocide in Palestine. “Hate Fruit” tells about how Italian villagers retaliated against fascists who abused their privileges during the 1940’s. “La Vierge Noire” deals with Germaine Berton, an anarchist from the early 20th century who murdered a far right representative in order to avenge the assassination of French President Jean Jaurès, while “La Commune” is obviously talking about the historical time of 1871 when the Commune of Paris saw a social rise against the brutal class war led by the bourgeoisie who collaborated with the Prussians in order to slaughter the rebellious population.
On the other hand, songs like “Accabadora”—about elderly ladies in Sardinia who ritually practiced euthanasia as a definitive way to alleviate the suffering of the dying—and “The Two Headed Boy”—the story of two 17th-century Siamese twins tried for murder—are both closely intertwined with the theme of death and how it can be evoked or questioned.
DIONYSIAQUE’s “La Tourbe Des Rêves” is a cathartic experience, conjuring all the negativity and expunging the black bile that lately suffocate bodies and minds.
FFO: Reverend Bizarre, Celtic Frost, Pentagram, Darkthrone
