Montreal atmoblack trio Miserere Luminis returns with third album, Sidera, boasting lush atmospheres and enormous feels. Formed back in 2008, Miserere Luminis dropped their eponymous debut in 2009, then disappeared from the studio for fourteen years. The triumvirate stepped out from the shadows and unleashed Ordalie in 2023, heralding a triumphant reemergence and one of the most exquisite album covers I’ve ever laid eyes on. The tunes delivered, too, are replete with more mature compositions than Miserere Luminis and a tighter runtime to boot. With their third album, can Miserere Luminis maintain their trajectory of mounting improvement, or does Sidera fall into dark, merciless obscurity?
Anyone who has supped on Miserere Luminis’ music can confidently sink their teeth into Sidera’s similarly sumptuous sounds with satisfaction. Rich and vibrant textures blanket its fifty-one minutes, eliciting nods to Wolves in the Throne Room and Der Weg einer Freiheit while never losing their own distinct identity. Restrained, controlled paces reign supreme across Sidera, where jangling guitars and implacable drums unfurl at Miserere Luminis’ leisure. Entwined with the traditional guitar, bass, and drum attack, piano and strings impart a classical zest across Sidera’s five tracks. The recipe delivers a potent concoction, flaunting an embarrassment of moments swollen with opulence and grandeur.
Sidera presents a complex tangle to unwind, stuffed with stunning passages that twist and meander with a menacing edge. The darkness within the music averts the malice pervading second wave-informed black metal, and instead adopts a contemplative restlessness that churns with forlorn melancholy. “Aux Vras des Vagues & des Vomissures” supplies excellently heart-wrenching pathos, where strings dance and swirl before fading in deference to the despondent bass plucks that close out the song. Follow-up “À la Douleur de l’Aube” resonates with equal poignancy, while opening duo “Les Fleurs de l’Exil” and “De Cris & de Cendres” offer a (relatively) more frantic anguish than what’s heard on subsequent tracks. Miserere Luminis not only channels their woebegone mystique with grace and aplomb, but they do so with an uncanny knack for commanding tension, augmented by Icare’s deft drumming. Neptune’s piano sources another highlight, and his interplay with Icare’s string compositions sizzle with stoic solemnity. Through it all, Annatar’s vocals cut with a raw edge that perfectly embody the stark emotions he conveys.
Though Sidera hypnotizes with its beauty from minute to minute, its entirety lacks the diversity required to support its length. Despite Miserere Luminis’ firm grasp of mood and tension, repeated listens expose the album’s monotonous elegance. After my third spin through Sidera, I couldn’t differentiate any of the tracks. Another fifteen listens on, and I’m not faring much better. To be clear, atmospheric black metal often falls into this dilemma, where the music is oriented to temperaments and feelings rather than carving out singles rife with hooks. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this approach, and individual passages drip with gorgeous orchestrations, subtle interplays of dissonance and melody, and tortured vocals. Yet the final impression is that a uniformity persists throughout the album that inhibits breakout moments; because of this, Sidera’s runtime suffers from bloat (the shortest track clocks in at eight-and-a-half minutes). On the other hand, Miserere Luminis resolutely owns their sound, and Sidera’s production wisely puts the spotlight on the strings and piano—classical accompaniment rarely sounds this good in black metal.
It’s impossible to deny Sidera’s power as I marinate in the swaying transitions between guitar and piano or the jazz-informed drumming. Miserere Luminis writes transportive music that seethes with agony and hope, yet lacks a dimension to separate its densely-packed glamor into the highs and lows I long for. Sidera acts as a prime example of an album that will doubtlessly please fans of the genre, but won’t change anyone’s mind about it. Hell, I delighted in my time with Miserere Luminis, even though I doubt I’ll return with regularity. The possibilities introduced on Sidera excite me more than the album itself, and while I recommend a listen if you’re even a casual fan of the genre, I mostly look forward to what Miserere Luminis does next.
Rating: Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026
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