Review: Nebulae Come Sweet – De Lumière

Style: Post-Metal, Progressive Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, The Ocean
Review by: Sam
Country: Belarus
Release date: 20 April, 2023

Post-metal is one of the genres I respect the most. I am not always in the mood for it (usually I prefer faster and/or more immediate stuff), but there is a certain artistry to the genre that I love. The slow, meticulous atmosphere building until the eventual (sometimes multiple) crescendo(s) requires finesse that is hard to pull off. When done unskillfully, this type of song build can easily fall into mindless droning until the band gets bored and suddenly decides to pulls all the stops, going from zero to a hundred. But when done right, it can lead to some of the most transcendent moments in music (see for example: “In Awe Of” by Cult of Luna or “Not in Rivers, But in Drops” by Isis). We haven’t had much post-metal coverage recently (if you’re reading this Jonah, your reviews of all things sludge are missed), but when I found this band in our list, I wanted to make some amends, because there is something special brewing here.

Nebulae Come Sweet (what a mouthful!) is a progressive/post-metal band from Belarus. What immediately stood out to me is the use of strings. Indeed, they have not just a full-time cello player but there’s nearly an entire backing orchestra as guests: violin, trumpets, saxophone, you name it. There’s even an accordion and a backing choir! The soundscape is extremely rich and layered because of this at almost all times, removing every inch of the post-metal dullness I talked about earlier the record otherwise might have had. If the metal aspect is just strumming around, the orchestra develops the mood, and when the riffs get more imposing, the orchestra provides texture and nuance. You can hear every little detail as well thanks to the brilliant production job by Maxim Samosvat.

It is hard to discuss the metal aspect without talking about the orchestral elements given how intertwined they are. In the opener “Lumen” there is a call and response going on between the guitar and the cello, one providing heaviness, the other providing melody. The guitarwork really is just a part of the whole sound. Especially as the focus lies on texture, the guitar strumming is just one of many layers. This comes at the cost of having slightly more basic riffs when the band goes heavier to leave space for the orchestra though. I also found myself slightly bored at the drumming sometimes, which does as required but not a whole lot more. To make a slight leap, Cult of Luna I consider to be the golden standard of post-metal, and they are amazing at subtly increasing the drumming intensity, with each fill slightly more intricate than the last, and a rhythm that continuously morphs upward until it explodes at the crescendo. Drummer Igor Kovalyov knows which groove to play, but I’m missing said fills, minor variations, and explosivity when compared to the Swedish genre-grandmasters. 

That lack of explosivity also translates more generally to the crescendos reached, where I often find myself wanting a bit more than I got. It’s not that they are bad, they’re quite great actually, but there is a lingering feeling that the band has the ability to pull off a masterpiece and they can’t quite seem to get there. Opener “Lumen” is the greatest “offender” of this, building to something huge, but then fizzling out before truly transcending. “Candor” is more satisfying with its swelling tremolo crescendo. Lastly, I should also mention a strong (modern) The Ocean influence in this band’s sound. Especially in “Claritas” where there is a strong resemblance in the guitarwork and some of the symphonic passages to the Phanerozoic albums. And I’m sure the more die-hard fans than me will be able to pick up on more nods to the paleontology fanatics.

The album ends with an orchestral piece, rehashing the themes and motifs of the album to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I am not sure whether it is a concept album since I am awful at deciphering lyrics, but it sure plays like one since the track transitions are seamless and the final song is called “Epilogue en si Mineur”. Either way, De Lumière is a great, innovative slab of post-metal which every fan of the genre should hear, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it pop up on a few end of year lists. Good job fellas.

Recommended tracks: Candor, Splendor, Epilogue en si Mineur
You may also like: Dead to a Dying World, Ode and Elegy, Sikasa, Dirge (bandcamp), East of the Wall (bandcamp)
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Nebulae Come Sweet is:
– Igor Kovalyov (drums, vocals, synths)
– Sergey Shidlovsky (bass)
– Dmitry Matveev (guitar, backing vocals)
– Anastasiya Vashkevich (cello, strings)

With guest musicians:
– Aleksey Maksimov (guitar)
– Andrey Buzovsky (guitar)
– Diana Gvozd’ (piano)
– Anastasiya Sutyagina (violin)
– Igor Shevtsov (trumpet)
– Daniel Egorov (trumpet)
– Alexander Zvyagintsev (accordion)
– Ivan Izmalkin (saxophone)
– Igor Butz (bass)
– Alexandra Sidorevich (backing vocals, choir)
– Alexey Shipulin (narrator, choir)