Gris – Il était une forêt… (2007)
What I appreciate the most in metal music is the fact that there is one style for every mood. When I am angry I listen to Cannibal Corpse or Strapping Young Lad, When I am happy (like hippies) I listen to Finntroll or Die Apokalyptischen Reiter… and when I want to be alone for a while to reflect, I listen to Katatonia or, since I’ve discovered them recently, to Gris.
Gris, previously called Niflheim, is a two-man band from Canada. They have since released two full-length records: First “Neurasthénie” and, in 2007, “Il était une forêt”. I would describe their music as Depressive Black Metal with Ambient influences and you can compare Gris to bands like Burzum, Silencer or Trist. The CD consists of 6 songs and has a length of 60 minutes (+/- 10 minutes per song).
In the style of Burzum’s Filosofem(first song), Gris manages to hypnotize you with their repetitive riffs and the strong atmosphere, produced by the keyboard in the background. On metal-archives.com, I’ve found as lyrical theme “…Balance between Depression and Joy”, and I think that’s what their music is about. On the one side the created atmosphere is highly depressive, but on the other side Gris gives you some room to stand up and see the light at the end of the tunnel, only to smash you down again, a few seconds later.
The absolute highlights of “Il était une forêt” are the moments in the songs, which distinguish themselves from the repetitive riffs. These moments you recognize in their intensity and melancholy, and I think if you have some experience with depressive black metal, you won’t have problems to hear these special moments (just listen at 4:31 in the song “Cicatrices”).
But not only the great songwriting is a virtue of this record, Icare (Vocals) has managed to give his music with his doleful vocal-style, which you could compare also to Burzum or Silencer, an even more melancholic touch.
Personally, I’ve found nothing negative to write about! Yeah o.k. if you are a fan of well produced records, you should not listen to “Il était une forêt” and if you hate depressive black metal, “Il était un forêt” won’t change your opinion, but if those two things don’t apply to you, this record is an absolute must have! For me, it’s one of the best depressive/ambient black metal records ever, because “Il était une forêt” has a soul and isn’t one of these “Hell yeah let’s make some noise and call it black metal”-bands.
MFG presents: REVIEWS 
i absolutely agree with all of your points! this is an absolutely killer album and i even say that “il était une foret” became one of my all-time favourite records!
An ween huet et entdeckt? deen heiten (Conter) natierlech : >
(SvArt: mimimimimi)
A brief snap of the songs featured on myspace didn’t overwhelm me. guess i’m not susceptible for that kind of music. the _athmosphere_ kinda reminded me of jesu, fear falls burning, yet further of old isis. so actually not my kind of stuff. never mind!
innerwille, where are the reviews of the fanhead records? still i’d like to read the father ed article…
A big “Hello” to the MFG Crew. First of all I have to say that I’m not really the guy who listens to Metal music that often, but I’m very open-minded about “new” bands.
So I listenend to the Gris record “il était une foret” and as I am a fan of “Isis” I have to agree with xdevx concerning this point caus it also reminds me of old Isis-with being a lot more impulsive and maudlin. It´s incredible how tangend the songs are. The dark and suicidal atmosphere takes the listener in wide worlds where thoughts are waiting to be captured and liberated in a sphere of darkness and sanguine tranquillity.
I absolutely LOVE this record!!!
Oh, yeah..
It’s soo great, i love this cd..
In the style of Burzum’s Filosofem(first song), Gris manages to hypnotize you with their repetitive riffs and the closely atmosphere, produced by the keyboard in the background. On metal-archives.com, I’ve found as lyrical theme “…Balance between Depression and Joy”, and I think that’s what their music is about. On one side the created atmosphere is highly depressive, on the other side Gris gives you some room to stand up and see the light at the end of the tunnel, but only to smash you down again, a few seconds later.
—-> Great!!
Just discoverd Gris..ithis is good stuff,it just has that authenticity about it,you can tell when a band is full of shit.
Ballance between Depression and Joy, Spirituality…thats me,..
in that i mean i look for this in black metal always…it’s weird i dont understand it myself..but it’s like i love depressive black metal..but it must have that contradiction within it which is a sound that is extremely melancholic,,sorrowfull,.depressive…but at the same time it is very very uplifting at the same time,,,im just a wierdo 😉
Perfect exsample i can give is like bands like “Sear Bliss”,”Agolloch””Aphotic”,”Dimmu Borgir”
( For All Tid, Stormblast era),
The vocals remind me of Bethlehem’s,,
see you dont need to label yourself depressive black metal to be depressive, just do it dont say it for fucksake..
,amazing band \m/
great buenisimo grupo de black metaql depressivo lo adoro
I love Gris.. Is one of my favorite DSBM projects out there..
Thanks for sharing this..
Would you like to exchange links??
Leave me a reply in my blog..
The Land Of Desolation – Just Depressive Black Metal