Style: Black Metal, Post-Metal, Blackgaze (Harsh Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Alcest, Møl, Deafhaven
Country: Canada
Release date: 6 March 2026

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Carl Jung famously remarked that ‘In each of us there is another whom we do not know’. For the introspective, a lifetime can be spent discovering the purpose of our inner being. Does this being guard our secrets, waiting for the right moment to release them to the world? Or does our inner self take control of our actions, guiding us through routine in fear of unpredictable human outbursts? The uncertainty of our inner self can feel scary and chaotic, but it’s worthwhile to note that Jung also reminds us how ‘In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order’¹. Regardless of what disorder our inner being is capable of (chaos), the actions we partake in are guided by cosmic reason and order, not by chance (cosmos). This balance of chaos and cosmos spoke to black-metal veterans Miserere Luminis, inspiring their newest release, Sidera². 

Miserere Luminis return after three years to continue the cosmic story that began in Ordalie³. The Canadian three-piece—comprised of musicians from black metal bands Gris and Sombres Forêts—began exploring the chaotic, inner being in the 2023 release, a record that blends traditional black-metal vocals, orchestral instruments (namely strings, piano, and saxophone), and fuzzed-out guitars. Ordalie expresses ‘existential and aesthetic transcendence … through rage and ecstasy’ with a balance of aggressive musical climaxes that explode between tender orchestral passages. Sidera picks up where Ordalie leaves off, continuing the exploration of the unknown within us; however, Sidera’s approach differs from its predecessor. The ecstasy in Ordalie is replaced with vulnerability, and Ordalie’s rage is consumed by fire—a fire that does not spread haphazardly, but, guided by the orderly cosmos, meticulously burns to create the harshest musical moments Miserere Luminis offer. 

Fire bursts alight almost immediately in opening track “Les fleurs de l’exil”—do not let the sparkling guitars and orchestral intro fool you into thinking otherwise. Drummer Icare’s controlled blast beats and multi-instrumentalist Neptune’s commanding guitar riffs douse gasoline on a stage that ignites upon vocalist Annatar’s entry, his layered, harsh vocals much richer here than with Sombres Forêts. Toss in soaring guitar and piano melodies for balance, and suddenly the tone of Sidera becomes much darker than any track off of Ordalie. The harrowing theme “Les fleurs de l’exil” sets doesn’t relent until the final moment of the album, even as the music alternates between explosive walls of sound and droning instrumental sections. 

The beauty of Miserere Luminis’s technical ability is that they do not solely rely on fundamental black-metal characteristics to create an impactful album: in fact, many of Sidera’s moments are composed of gentle and layered melodic segments, and blast beats are largely replaced with embellished drum work that elevates the album’s atmospheric identity. Miserere Luminis’s sound is free-flowing and starry, despite the intricate instrumentation. Icare maximizes every part of the drumkit, using the low-tuned drums to create a hypnotic—and at times, tribal—soundscape. His cymbal work texturally blends with the orchestra; metronomic cymbal hits give body to the wispy high-tuned string harmonics, and each tap on the hi-hat glimmers with the light of Jung’s cosmos. The bass rarely mirrors the fuzzy tremolo in the guitars, instead adding sweeping arpeggios and embellishment to the root chords (“Aux bras des vagues & des vomissures”⁴). These individual musical lines are pleasant on their own, but they reach their peak only when they are sewn together; the needle that threads the instrumental patchwork takes form in the gut-wrenching vocals that are sung from both Annatar and Icare. Their growls ignite the soundstage on fire again and again, tightening the threads that hold the musical lines together until they become a permanent, single whole. Once melded together, the music becomes light on the ears, but the dynamism of the combined instruments blazes into the listener’s heart, leaving behind only ashes and a feeling of existential dread.

In Sidera, musical order is created through vibrant strings, piano, and soft, intentional drumming that is reminiscent of starry and vibrant cosmos. The organized chaos of the inferno eats through the calm in the form of harsh, exposed vocals, blast beating, and gripping guitar riffing. Combining these interpretations of chaos and cosmos results in an experience similar to the one the album artwork evokes: a transcendental hope that is felt only after one is singed, pained, and burned by the might of the fallen stars⁵. These combined elements weave together so tightly in Sidera that the listener becomes deeply immersed the moment they hit the play button. The album is best described as unrelenting and unforgiving, yet profound and life-affirming, offering a deeply emotional journey. When (yes, when) you listen to Sidera, be prepared to not only wear your heart on your sleeve, but for your sleeve to go up in flames from the aftermath of the burning stars, and to rebuild your heart piece by piece.

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Recommended tracks: Les fleurs de l’exil, De cris & de cendres, Aux bras des vagues & des vomissures
You may also like: Gris, Sombres Forêts, Angest Herre, RÜIM, Together to the Stars
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Debemur Morti Productions

Miserere Luminis is: 
– Annatar (Guitar, vocals)
– Neptune (Guitar, bass, piano, lyrics, saxophone)
– Icare: (Drums, vocals, strings)

1. Like with most philosophy, isolated quotes often lose contextual meaning. Carl Jung’s Civilization in Transition and The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious provide the contextual meaning of these quotes, respectively, should you be interested in learning more.  ↩︎
2.  Fun fact, Sidera is Latin for “stars”. ↩︎
3. Ordalie is French for “ordeal”. Trust me, there’s no need to translate the lyrics for either album further unless you want to be hurt emotionally. ↩︎
4. Translated, this title means “In the arms of waves and vomit”. Yes, I double checked. (Thanks, Claire.)  ↩︎
5. Can we please take a moment to appreciate how beautiful Adam Burke’s album art is? ↩︎