Tag Archives: antoine scholtès

Album Review – Wurmian / Immemorial Shrine (2025)

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Enter the shrine of first-class Melodic Death and Doom Metal crafted by this one-man project from France, and let the echoes from his debut album guide you on a brooding and immersive journey through sorrow, introspection, and existential desolation.

Founded in 2024 by Antoine Scholtès, the mastermind behind Atmospheric Black Metal project Inherits The Void, Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France-based act Wurmian emerges with a mission to resurrect the essence of classic Melodic Death and Doom Metal. Drawing inspiration from the melancholic and introspective tones of bands like October Tide, Horrified, and Edge of Sanity, the project’s debut offering, titled Immemorial Shrine, embraces the duality of soaring melodies and crushing heaviness. Mastered by Simon Da Silva at The Empty Hall Studio, and displaying a classic logo by Dipayandas Art and a stunning, doomed artwork by Silvana Massa, Immemorial Shrine is a somber odyssey into solitude and decay, a brooding and immersive journey through sorrow, introspection, and existential desolation, turning it into a compelling listen for fans of both classic and modern death and doom.

Antoine begins embellishing the airwaves with his melodious guitar lines in Aeon Afterglows, reminding me of both old school and contemporary Paradise Lost with a harsher twist; whereas in the title-track Immemorial Shrine he showcases all his passion for Black and Death Metal without forgetting to add a good share of Doom and Gothic Metal to his sound, and the final result is simply beautiful. His Melodic Doom Metal attack goes on in Haven, with his guttural vocals and pounding drums being perfect for some sick headbanging, and our lone wolf speeds things up in Spires of Sorrow, offering a rawer, more direct Death Metal attack led by his classic beats and fills. Then back to a more pensive, melancholic sonority, Antoine roars with tons of anguish in Yearning Unseen, also delivering piercing, sharp riffs, followed by Sleeping Giants, another stunning composition by this multi-talented French musician that overflows Atmospheric Black and Death Metal for our total delight. And the closing song of the album, The Everflowing Stream, is another lecture in Doom Metal, with Antoine enhancing the acidity of his riffs and the depth of his Stygian roars for our vulgar delectation.

In the end, prepare to embark on a melancholic odyssey that echoes the spirit of the 90’s Death and Doom Metal while forging a path into the present in Immemorial Shrine, already available in full on YouTube and on Spotify. Hence, don’t forget to follow the project on Facebook and on Instagram for news, and maybe some live performances in the future in case Antoine assembles a live band for his shows, and above all, to purchase  Immemorial Shrine from  Wurmian’s own BandCamp or from the Pest Records’ BandCamp, or simply by clicking HERE. After all is said and done, simply enter the shrine of first-class Melodic Death and Doom Metal crafted by Wurmian. Let the echoes guide you.

Best moments of the album: Immemorial Shrine, Haven and Sleeping Giants.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Pest Records

Track listing
1. Aeon Afterglows 4:55
2. Immemorial Shrine 4:54
3. Haven 6:33
4. Spires of Sorrow 4:36
5. Yearning Unseen 5:27
6. Sleeping Giants 5:21
7. The Everflowing Stream 7:19

Band members
Antoine Scholtès – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Inherits The Void / Monolith Of Light (2021)

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A one-man Atmospheric Black Metal entity from France arises from the underworld with his first full-length album, offering us all rage and melody entwined in seven hymns to the transience of man.

Brought into being in 2020 in Clermont-Ferrand, a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the Atmospheric/Melodic Black Metal entity known as Inherits The Void is the musical endeavor of French vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Antoine Scholtès, who’s releasing this year his debut full-length opus Monolith Of Light. The follow-up to the 2020 EP Mémoires, Monolith Of Light was born from Antoine’s desire for “a meeting between influences from the 90’s Swedish Black Metal scene and a more current orientation of the genre,” offering us all rage and melody entwined in seven hymns to the transience of man, bringing to mind the great masterworks of Dissection, Dawn and Vinterland, as well as the more contemporary sounds of France. “The main idea behind that album was to compose songs that would be both melodic and atmospheric, embraced by the desire to propose a range of various emotions,” commented Antoine, also saying that Monolith Of Light “deals with the will to face human beings with the fact that they are ephemeral on the scale of cosmos and to confront them, also, with their faults and the absurdity of many of their acts.”

And Stygian, mesmerizing sounds arise from the underworld before Antoine comes ripping with his infernal roars in Pillars of the Aether, a brutal Black Metal tune with an ethereal background where his blast beats and hellish riffs are simply amazing; whereas As the Winds Moan the Threnody is even more breathtaking and detailed than the opening track, showcasing an Antoine on fire with his riff and drum attack while at the same time he crafts a sinister and incendiary ambience perfect for his enraged growls, resulting in a beautiful display of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal. Then the title-track Monolith of Light continues to pave Inherits The Void’s obscure path, setting an interesting and demonic flow to the album and displaying the aggressiveness of classic Black Metal intertwined with melodic passages, all embraced by a strong sense of hopelessness.

Another hurricane of darkened sounds is offered to us all in the form of Unfathomable Echoes, where Antoine hammers his guitar, bass and drums mercilessly in a lecture in Atmospheric Black Metal that will please all fans of the genre, followed by Starless Path, which starts in a more melodic and serene manner and gradually evolves into Antoine’s trademark sonic strike, or in other words, it’s a stylish instrumental interlude that flows smoothly into the epic Through the Eyes of Cosmos, where once again our talented multi-instrumentalist extracts darkness and light at the same time from his riffage while his growls sound more demented than before, not to mention how the music drags you into the void to never let you out. And closing the album on a beyond high note we have Aorasia, another multi-layered, massive creation by Antoine showcasing his demonic gnarls enfolded by a very melodic and fierce sonority, with his guitar lines sounding utterly sharp until the very last second.

The somber and uncanny world of Inherits The Void can be explored in detail by following Antoine and his musical beast on Facebook and on Instagram, and of course if you want to show your utmost support to the underground you should purchase a copy of Monolith Of Light from the Avantgarde Music’s BandCamp page, or from Sound Cave as a digipack CD, as a black vinyl, or as a stunning silver and black galaxy vinyl. After all is said and done, we’ll all realize Monolith Of Light is indeed an album built on contrasts, which is both classic and modern, bridging the gap between decades afar and, therefore, proving Antoine is on the right path with his atmospheric and extreme alter-ego.

Best moments of the album: As the Winds Moan the Threnody and Unfathomable Echoes.

Worst moments of the album: Starless Path.

Released in 2021 Avantgarde Music

Track listing
1. Pillars of the Aether 6:16
2. As the Winds Moan the Threnody 5:04
3. Monolith of Light 5:20
4. Unfathomable Echoes 4:45
5. Starless Path 2:04
6. Through the Eyes of Cosmos 5:41
7. Aorasia 7:53

Band members
Antoine Scholtès – vocals, all instruments