REMAH is an atmospheric black metal band from international origins. "Une Main" is their debut full length. While no doubt a very atmospheric album, "Une Main" can be aggressive as well. In truth, this is an album of extreme degrees. It can beautiful and soft but also ugly and aggressive as hell. The mix is solid but the overall sound of the production is raw . I actually liked this combination of audio devastation. It allows for the more atmospheric parts to shine but keeps the blackened elements dark and acidic.

Even though it has such extreme degrees, the album manages to be well balanced, which provides a smooth listening experience. With a five tracks and a thirty five minute run time, this is an album that is a short but sweet ride that demands, and deserves, repeated listens. "Des rêves sales," begins with quiet, ambient tones. In the background, tension builds up as the guitar gets started. Like water flow, the music bursts forth. At this point, black metal fury takes over: hyper speed drums, riffs and blackened shrieks. The guitars and bass change it up enough to avoid monotony. About halfway through, the song changes into a keyboard passage with sparse psychedelic and spacey sounds.  This is a great touch and eve though it doesn't sound like the passages before it, it does match the tone. The build up back to black metal is well done too. A top notch song for sure!

"III" is the second track and after a brief ambient intro, it explodes into black metal. The drumming in particular is a nonstop barrage and compliments the riffs.  Subtle keys paint the music with the right amount of otherworldly presence before the song turns into a cleaner passage that feels folk to me. Afterwards, the song becomes grandiose with the keys mixing in more prominently into the distortion.

"Les marais," is an interlude that is just ambient sounds so quiet it might as well be silence. I wouldn't call it filler as it works within the album as a whole but on its own it is forgettable. Thankfully, the album picks back up with "La gueule ouverte." The first few moments of the track sound sinister and ancient—and the clean vocals are a nice added dimension.  This song is slower than the ones before it, more of a dark dirge but it is just as potent. I loved the middle portion where it is just cleans and tight double bass. The transition back to black metal is sinister and even a little creepy.

The final track is "Premier spasme" and wastes little time in restoring the albums speed but adds in plenty of odd, ambient textures for a multifaceted audible assault to the senses.  The blackened vocals appearing besides the clean tones is a harrowing combination and goes a long way it making the song as unsettling as it is atmospheric. All in all, REMAH's "Une Main" is an impressive debut that can be enjoyed by both more traditional black metal fans and those who crave a little imagination and adventure in theirs.