No, I didn't find much time for release reviews in a while. You only need to go back as far as my Midyear TOP 15, where it say "no review yet" several times, to guess that there's a long line of albums, EPs etc. still waiting for my words of wisdom.
And one of the most monstrous among those (well, until now of course) undoubtly is this three LP live album by Neptunian Maximalism:
And one of the most monstrous among those (well, until now of course) undoubtly is this three LP live album by Neptunian Maximalism:
NEPTUNIAN MAXIMALISM - Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu (3LP) (2025)
In a way I already reviewed this work of the Belgian collective, since I witnessed their Roadburn performance of "Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu" in 2024 and later declared it my second favorite festival show of the year.
This album documents the live debut of the same composition in St. John’s on Bethnal Green Church in London in 2023. Structured after the model of three Indian Ragas, of which I honestly completely lack the theoretical knowledge to expand further on, "Le Sacre" fully embraces the dark Drone side of the group, the subcontinental sounds and atmospheres and above all the turtle-like patience to explore every aspect without any haste, from the saz-infused Doom Metal, which more than ever before renders homage to Bong, to prolonged Ambient Indian meditations to Heavy Psychedelic and even Dissonant Black Metal outbursts.
While this of course already is a lot to take in, it's a very different beast than Neptunian Maximalism's other three LP album "Éons" from 2020, where a lot of the overwhelming nature came from the permanent exposure to manifold influences between Drone, Doom, Psych, but also Post Rock, Noise and Jazz.
"Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu" in comparison feels less cosmically chaotic, more stylistically restrained... or let's better say focused, because otherwise this choice might be misunderstood as a weakness, which it definitely isn't.
Everything takes its time, the primeval vocals appear relatively seldom but to great effect. No instrument, no idea, no texture remains underutilized, all elements unfold their most vibrant and immersive qualities. The fusion of heaviest Rock setup, Electronic sounds and tradional string and wind instruments under the umbrella of Indian Classical music could hardly be better balanced.
So even though I'm very reluctant to rank the band's all-around maximalist grandiosity - the more I dive into it this performance and album, the more I guess it might actually be their greatest achievement to date!
Presented in a hard box with all records in separate sleeves graced by excerpts of a wide Tomiyuki Kenako painting reminiscent of "Éons" and an LP-sized booklet, the physical item makes a good shelf neighbour to the vinyl edition of "Éons" as well as the "Live at Roadburn" box of aforementioned Bong.
And just like that triple album this release absolutely has the potential to achieve the status of a holy grail in Drone Doom (and beyond) for me.
The only thing which annoys me a little - apart from the obvious sheer inconvenience of fitting any album of almost hundred minutes length into my day -, is that the band (or I, Voidhanger Records) could have made it significantly easier to recognize which side you're about to put on the turntable. There surely would have been ways to put in a capital letter on each label without ruining the beautiful artwork.
This album documents the live debut of the same composition in St. John’s on Bethnal Green Church in London in 2023. Structured after the model of three Indian Ragas, of which I honestly completely lack the theoretical knowledge to expand further on, "Le Sacre" fully embraces the dark Drone side of the group, the subcontinental sounds and atmospheres and above all the turtle-like patience to explore every aspect without any haste, from the saz-infused Doom Metal, which more than ever before renders homage to Bong, to prolonged Ambient Indian meditations to Heavy Psychedelic and even Dissonant Black Metal outbursts.
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| Neptunian Maximalism live at Roadburn 2024 |
"Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu" in comparison feels less cosmically chaotic, more stylistically restrained... or let's better say focused, because otherwise this choice might be misunderstood as a weakness, which it definitely isn't.
Everything takes its time, the primeval vocals appear relatively seldom but to great effect. No instrument, no idea, no texture remains underutilized, all elements unfold their most vibrant and immersive qualities. The fusion of heaviest Rock setup, Electronic sounds and tradional string and wind instruments under the umbrella of Indian Classical music could hardly be better balanced.
So even though I'm very reluctant to rank the band's all-around maximalist grandiosity - the more I dive into it this performance and album, the more I guess it might actually be their greatest achievement to date!
Presented in a hard box with all records in separate sleeves graced by excerpts of a wide Tomiyuki Kenako painting reminiscent of "Éons" and an LP-sized booklet, the physical item makes a good shelf neighbour to the vinyl edition of "Éons" as well as the "Live at Roadburn" box of aforementioned Bong.
And just like that triple album this release absolutely has the potential to achieve the status of a holy grail in Drone Doom (and beyond) for me.
The only thing which annoys me a little - apart from the obvious sheer inconvenience of fitting any album of almost hundred minutes length into my day -, is that the band (or I, Voidhanger Records) could have made it significantly easier to recognize which side you're about to put on the turntable. There surely would have been ways to put in a capital letter on each label without ruining the beautiful artwork.
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