Bitume Productions has announced the release of "Fragment Quatrième (Metacosmos)," the latest album from French industrial/black metal act THY APOKALYPSE. Continuing the sci-fi narrative of a war between humans and robots that began with the band's debut album in 2009, the new record delves into current issues of AI, drawing inspiration from Spike Jonze's 2013 motion picture Her; within the story arc, the artificial beings have become self-aware and wage a conflict to liberate themselves from human control in search of a world of their own – the titular Metacosmos. With implications that the AIs were inherently programmed to defy humanity, Founder Adz extends the album's themes to his English translations of the text, while also maintaining that all of the instrumentation and production was crafted by him.

The album has five songs, and "Consciousness" is first. Electronic tones ease into play, together with a darkness that hangs in the background like the thick fog of morning. A distorted riff enters, with chunky bass notes, and you get the feeling something big is just around the corner. "Artificial" also eases in, but is quickly followed by that big moment you were waiting for. They light a short fuse, and the bomb explodes. The sounds is so thick, it's hard to get your bearings…where you are…what's going on. It slows to another dark passage where more meaty bass notes carry the sound, but the earlier chaos returns. "Liberation" rumbles hard and fast in the deep, and there are some audible melodies amidst the madness.

"War" is another thick and hard slab of Black Metal aggressiveness and weight, and you can hear some real intricacies in the guitar work. At first, the vocals are whispered, and almost listless, and the picture of the war machine they paint is rich. The title track is a 15 minute closer. Following another eased in entrance, the full scope of the song is presented. The drums roll forward at lightning speed, and the riffs fill the room and beyond. Then, a long ambient section enters, and it reminds me of being in the vastness of outer space, especially with the smooth keyboard notes. It rides out these sounds for quite a while, and towards the end, the sound picks up, with the advent of an audible wind blowing in, and a promise of darkness.

This was a delightfully dark album that was well composed, and well performed. At times, the sound was so thick it felt as if the wheels might come of the bus careening across the highway at breakneck speed, but Adz always maintains control. That was the centerpiece of the album for me, how he managed just enough restraint amidst a veritable shower of chaotic sound, thick riffs, and lightning fast blast beat drumming. Darkness was the key…it's everywhere.