Some debuts arrive with a thunderclap. Guerre et Paix, the first full-length from VIA DOLORIS, prefers a slower kind of entrance — one that demands patience and rewards repeated listens. This is the solo project of Gildas Le Pape, the French-born, Oslo-based guitarist best known for his time in SATYRICON between 2007 and 2013, where he toured the world and contributed to the band's recorded legacy. After stepping away from extreme music to explore other directions, he eventually found his way back, and in 2023 invited his long-time collaborator Frost — one of the most accomplished drummers in the genre — to help bring this debut to life.
The cover art sets the tone before a single note plays: a cold, monochromatic blue scene of sea and clouds. There is no fire here, no upturned crosses, no forest at midnight — just a quiet, frigid expanse. It is a fitting visual companion to what unfolds across the album's seven tracks. The title itself, French for "War and Peace," already hints at the dialogue between extremes that defines the record, and the songs themselves carry titles in three different languages — French, Norwegian, and English — each chosen for the emotional weight it brings.
The compositions are lengthy, averaging over seven minutes, with the closing two-parter and the centerpiece "Ultime Tourment" stretching toward the ten-minute mark. Le Pape handles guitars, bass, and vocals himself, while Frost takes care of session drums. The vocals sit a touch dry in the mix, which works for some passages and feels exposed in others. The drums, on the other hand, can be distracting at times — mostly very fast, loud, machine-gun blast beats that occasionally pull focus from the more nuanced guitar work happening underneath.
"Communion" is a very strong opening statement. Uncomforting guitars sweep in, sirening from left to right across the stereo field before a catchy riff locks in with those machine-gun drums. It hooks you immediately. "Un Franc Soleil," the song originally chosen to introduce the project to the world, leans into melancholic melody and cascading guitar lines.
A couple of songs feature an interesting guitar move that sounds like a chainsaw — especially fitting on "Ultime Tourment," where those riffs sound like torment itself. Abrasive on first contact, they grow on you. The track is the album's longest and most experimental piece, drifting between hypnotic drone and progressive flourishes.
There is also a clear touch of folk metal woven into the record. You can hear those melodies surface on "Visdommens Vei I" and "For The Glory." The latter is one of the most interesting songs on the album — its tempo shifts from an ultra-fast black metal storm to calm acoustic passages, and back again, without ever feeling forced.
Guerre et Paix is not the kind of album that gives up its secrets on the first spin. It is a record that needs to be listened to a couple of times before it fully opens up — the songcraft is dense, the dynamics are subtle, and the melodies tend to reveal themselves gradually rather than announce themselves. For a debut, that confidence in restraint is impressive. A solid debut.
Promo provided by Season of Mist.
Links:
- Label: Season of Mist
- Bandcamp: viadoloris.bandcamp.com
- Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/2R3PxQ7zeA3BpPhpI1JlxF