Somme’s 2020 self-titled debut crashed into the trenches scattering blood and brains across the sonic battlefield of today’s modern black metal scene. Themed after the first Great War, “Somme” is raw, apocalyptic and mercilessly cruel in terms of its frenzied aggression. There is a certain aura of hopelessness and regret which permeates Somme’s music and creates an exciting and terrifying atmosphere of mud-soaked trench warfare and bitter hand-to-hand combat and the trauma and misery of those who survived such inhuman horrors.
This short but dynamic and expressive album explores a fairly broad range of sounds; dolorous melodies are contrasted by blazing riffs and blasts, piercing like shrapnel and engulfing listeners like a cloud of mustard gas. At times the sound is claustrophobic, like being wedged in a muddy trench as artillery blasts shake the ground for miles; then the pace quickens like a bayonet charge as Somme becomes more desperate and frantic, fighting to the last. Somme has all of the hallmarks of a second-wave black metal act as far as lo-fi recording and tone are concerned, but still manages to concoct a unique take on a subject which continues to fascinate and disturb us over a hundred years later.
Support Somme and listen below:
Somme by Somme
Towers of Rust 