Bringing the old year to a closure, French solo project MÜTTERLEIN heralds the coming of its second album, “Bring Down The Flags“, via Debemur Morti Productions on December 30th (December 31st on streaming platforms). Not surprising to MÜTTERLEIN‘s fans and followers, “Bring Down The Flags” once again escapes all categorizations and oscillates between borderline-Black Metal, subterranean sound-design and electronics, ritualistic Doom, post-Punk savagery and brutally hypnotic Industrial rhythms. All these elements are fused into six unique compositions:
01. The Descent
02. A Mass For It
03. Mother Of Wrath
04. Violence And Misery
05. A Mess To Me
06. Requiem
All music on “Bring Down The Flags” was composed and recorded by MÜTTERLEIN. The mixing and mastering took place at Kerwax Analog Recording Studio (DEATHSPELL OMEGA) in 2021. Enigmatic visual artist Dehn Sora (BLUT AUS NORD, AMENRA) is responsible for the album artwork.
Artist Marion narrates about the creation of “Bring Down The Flags” and her musical evolution:
“It has been almost five years between the two albums “Orphans Of The Black Sun” (2016) and “Bring Down The Flags“. They have not been crafted in the same places, in the same houses, in the same life… A lot has changed. It did not happen on purpose, but I also like the idea that the albums will probably speak to different audiences.
Musically speaking, the only thing that they have in common is their ritualistic and cathartic aspects, driven by the drums and the vocals. This is kind of MÜTTERLEIN‘s red wire … the ‘rhythm and pain section’ in the orchestra, as I like to call it. “Orphans Of The Black Sun” was more shy and introspective, whereas “Bring Down The Flags” is more destructive and fearless. I just had to let the dogs out, you know?
I also wanted this album to be brutal, but very low, or differently said: low, but yet brutal… I explored a lot of Electronics and Industrial sounds in search of the perfect marriage between organic and electronic sounds. It is tricky because on the one hand too much low-end frequencies drag you to a place which sounds too “ambient”, and the violence I have to put into my music cannot not be perceived anymore. On the other hand, too much brutality would tear up the high-ends and hide the true despair in my songs. After all, I think that I am still searching for the ‘right place’ in music where the violence and the misery can be Siamese sisters, trying to reveal something authentic about this inner truth.“
With ‘The Descent‘, MÜTTERLEIN unveil the opener of the new album as a first glimpse into “Bring Down The Flags“. The composition slowly builds up tension with subtle ambient soundscapes, before it erupts into wild screams, pounding drums, and harsh noise. MÜTTERLEIN focuses on simple, yet effective means to create a hypnotic aura, resembling the obliterative vibe of Post Metal bands and Noise projects.
Listen to ‘The Descent‘ on the YouTube channel of the label:
Marion explains the vision behind the album opener:
“I like to think of this album as a slow descent into the abyss of a universal and yet intimate desperation. This song is a perfect first impression because it contains the invitation to follow my journey into the void. If you accept the invitation to board this insecure vessel, you will learn that the first feeling of anguish when the doors close is nothing compared to the loneliness and lack of air that one experiences when sinking deeper away from the surface.
‘The Descent‘ is about a strong feeling of solitude and the awareness that no matter how loud I will shout, I will never be heard. There is a lot of personal violence and disillusion in it. Musically, I wanted some drums, heavy and straight, that could navigate a route for the vocals and the ‘useless call’ they had to deliver. I tried to remove all the ‘unnecessary’ arrangements to this song because I wanted it to be as ‘straight to the point’ as possible.“
“Bring Down The Flags” will be released on December 30th (December 31st on streaming platforms). Pre-orders will start on November 5th via the label’s EU, US and Bandcamp shops. An exclusive DMP vinyl limited to 50 units will be available exclusively from the label’s EU shop.
MÜTTERLEIN is the solo project of Marion Leclercq (ex-OVERMARS), composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.
Adopted in 2014, this pseudonym is a nod to the nightmarish yet fragile work of NICO, who in many ways deconstructed the unbearable myth of ‘femininity’ imposed on us. Musically, MÜTTERLEIN mixes Post-Punk savagery, Doom, Noise, Industrial and Black Metal to create a vast universe of Post-Metal experimentation.
First album, “Orphans Of The Black Sun” – released in 2016 on Sundust Records, a label co-run by Vindsval from BLUT AUS NORD – leaned towards the Post-Punk and Doom registers using minimalist, cold instrumentation to create a record organic and ritualistic as a witch-dance around a fire.
In 2020, MÜTTERLEIN responded to an invitation by the artist LIMBES (ex-BLURR THROWER) to create a mirror piece to his epic 25 minute track entitled “Vérité” (French for Truth) for a split release issued in 2021 by LADLO. The free format allowed MÜTTERLEIN to experiment even further, constructing a slow, desolate dreamscape of doom-laden Dark Ambient.
“Bring Down The Flags“, MÜTTERLEIN‘s second album, will be released in late 2021 by Debemur Morti Productions. Dark, haunting and immediate, the album incorporates more electronic sounds and blackened Industrial atmospheres to serve a more direct subject and voice.