From Bandcamp, “French band CREATVRE are back with a new and exciting work, "Toujours Humain." As sole member Raphaël Fournier says, "the album bears witness to a world where humanity is one of its own relics, a vestige drowned in silicon. It’s a cyber-industrial journey, navigating between collective collapse and the pulse of resilience, each song a visual capsule drawn from this bleak tableau. It’s an allegory of self-erasure for individuals, as programmed by those who set the agenda," Fournier explains. "The shame of still being biological. A lucid awareness with no escape, submerged in a world that operates without us. It’s the exploitation of hope. The commodification of salvation. A false light sold to those who were plunged into darkness. The album is a dystopian soundtrack where violence is cold, almost surgical, and where the only possible utopia is an inner and collective revolt."

The album has nine songs, and “Syntropie” is first. What strikes me first is the combination of hard angles with smooth, legato passages. The vocals are dark and dangerous at times, but oddly inviting at others. The balance that’s achieved in the song is pretty amazing. “Hope” features some electronic instruments mixed in with the riff and harsh vocals. At times, it sounds like the wheels are coming off the bus, but Raphael is able to maintain control. Control is an illusion as the say, because despite our efforts to manage, plan, or influence the world around us, there are countless forces beyond our reach — randomness, entropy, the will of others, nature, time, and even our own subconscious impulses. “Plus Humain” isn’t quite as heavy, but there is still darkness running through the room…shadows, uncertainty, heightened senses. The darkness grows slowly, to the point that you really don’t notice that the room is black at the end.

“Chant Des Limbes” begins with clean guitar tones that segue into hardened ones, but the melody line remains, even amidst the horrid vocals. Raphael runs you in and out of passages of light and passages of utter darkness throughout the song. It breathes though…like a giant beating heart living without a host. “R+X” is more straightforward into the pit, and with a side of horror. The really odd thing about this is that it piques your natural curiosity, even though it’s something that you know you should leave alone. “810-M4SS” has a distinct groove that works well with the melody line. The vocals put a stain of storms on the song, but the melody refuses to give in. It stands firm while the deluge and heavy winds are all around it. “Toujours En Bas” has harder and more mysterious tones, like the painted main who lures you into his world with a crooked smile that you can’t help admire.

“Diffamation” is the kind of song that goes straight for your jugular with a surgeon’s precision. The music is both complex, and accessible at the same time…a result of knowing when and where to place melodic breaks. The bass work stands out in this song. “Shaina” is the final offering. Out of the gate the skies rumble with thunder and are torn by constant flashes of lightning. The drums roll, the riffs shift, and the vocals are an undeniable force. Again, the song borders on madness, and it’s astonishing how he can still steer the craft through. “Tourjous Humain” is a searing slab of metal, grinding forward like a rusted machine coming alive in a storm, its engine built on distortion, repetition, and complex tasks. What makes this record more than just a wall of sonic abrasion is the strange humanity that breathes through its fractured surfaces. What’s most striking is how personal this mechanical monstrosity feels. For all its concrete and steel, this is an album about survival, and finding rhythm inside the noise, and letting yourself breathe even when the air is poisoned.