Sainte Obyana du Froid is an atmospheric black metal duet from France. If the band is new, the man behind its music is not: Hylgaryss, mostly known for his recent project LE PROCHAIN HIVER and its masterpiece "Talvi" has also participated in many black gems for years. Hylgaryss is composing the music and recording all the instruments while Obyana switches between sumptuous female clean vocals and harsh haunted black metal screams. “The Purest Ending” is a metaphysic concept around winter and suicide. It is the mystical encounter between Obyana the Saint and the absolute cold, with which she wishes to become one as she dies beneath the snow, in order to commune with nature and with time.

The album has three lengthy songs, and “One with winter” is first. It eases in slowly and quietly, with choirs that sound like they are carried on a breeze. A blast of frigid air brings in the aggression of Black Metal, with thick riffs and speedy drums. The ensuing vocal screams could literally wake the dead…they are raging, and tortured. Some tension also pours in, and just when you think you reach a crescendo, the sound drops for a minute or so, and then returns with a renewed vigor. “Each with infinity” roars out of the gate with a fiery intensity. It burns brightly and for several minutes before there is a reduced speed zone closing in on the halfway mark. A short string and bell passage segues the song back to a darker and more aggressive sound.

The title track is the final offering, clocking in at just under 19 minutes. The lead in is very long, and it gives the band a chance to build up the anticipation and tension. It transitions pretty seamlessly to a thick bed of music with tortured vocals. It is also quite depressing, and the themes come into play. I feel like I am standing in a place very far to the north and a cold wind is whipping me to pieces, stripping my flesh one section at a time. Rounding the halfway mark, the sound drops to charming clean vocals and atmosphere. Again it roars back, with plenty of aggression, and there is a push and pull from there with alternating passages. She lies down in the frigid cold, waiting for death. It comes soon enough.

One of the best parts of the album, besides the themes matching the music very well, is that despite the length of the songs you don’t notice them passing by for so long. Indeed, the album does a nice job of pulling in the listener into its cold, winter sound, and immersing you in its imagery. Although it’s a barren and freezing landscape, it’s also something that I now want to experience for myself.