2023 Retro – SÜHNOPFER

"…this is quite possibly Ardraos's finest hour as a musician. There is a serious level of excitement and joy that launches out of the speakers that you can't help but to be enveloped in." (Black Metal Daily)

Last October, four years after SÜHNOPFER's DMP debut "Hic Regnant Borbonii Manes", French composer and multi-instrumentalist Ardraos re-emerged with seven revolutionary tracks of epically melodic Black Metal. In the eleventh installment of our retrospective series, we explore "Nous sommes d'hier" ("We are from yesterday"). Discover additional installments of this 2023 retro series, featuring, AARA, BLUT AUS NORD, NIGHTBRINGER, and others, on the respective artist's page and in our news section.

"And running with certainty to our doom,
under the slow and terrible hand of the centuries
let us agree to say farewell!" ('Nous sommes d'Hier')

Blending ferocious Black and Death Metal with the neo-romantic elegance of traditional French chanson, SÜHNOPFER occupy the unique genre of 'Baroque Black Metal'. "Nous sommes d'Hier" weaves together frenetic and hyper-skilled drumming, fervent classical guitar melodies, vocals brimming with raw passion and choral themes from Baroque luminaries Charpentier and Cherubini. This extraordinary amalgamation reaches its zenith on the album's final track - 'Le Bal Des Laze' – an innovative Black Metal reading of the renowned melody by French chansonnier Polnareff.

As one enthusiast expressed on Bandcamp:

"… it is all so elegant AND muscular. So baroque, so beautiful, so masterfully realized!" (Ippocalyptica)

Listen to the whole album here and via YouTube:

Ardraos highlights two seminal releases from 2023:

1. BLUT AUS NORD "Disharmonium – Nahab"
V. delivers a terrifying and unique atmosphere, a truly unique creation within extreme and dark Art.

2. POLNAREFF "Polnareff chante Polnareff"
This is linked to the cover song on the SÜHNOPFER album. Polnareff released a new album (at the end of 2022) on which he sings all his classic songs at his piano. Despite his age we can find his typical voice here again!

Looking ahead, Ardraos comments on his upcoming endeavors:

"We will naturally continue to promote "Nous sommes d'Hier" (with the next playthrough videos for example!), and to go back in search of new riffs to prepare a sequel – to which I do not set a limit concerning the number of years of creation it will take. It's not going to be easy since I don't come out of such a process unscathed, and I wish to raise the bar higher again. Each new album sounds for me like assembling a puzzle of 200 pieces for which I start with only 10 of them. We'll see if a new attempt will succeed in the future!"

"Nous sommes d'Hier" is available via our EU, US and Bandcamp shops.