Metalcatto
If you’re into Post/Black, you should be familiar with Your Ultimate Urban Nightmare. If you’re not, well, here I am helping you. Ever since then, Bonjour Tristesse has done the same as the novel with the same name—puzzle me. Many times, not in the best way. Having said that, I do expect Disaster Triumphant to be more than decent. Even if it’s different to the point where I feel alienated.
This is basically a harsh Black Metal album with some respectable songwriting. The band continues its darker and more abrasive path. Gone are the decadent and brutalist urban scenarios, and back is the pitch black and existential dread. Honestly, this album sounds like being lost in the woods at midnight. A bear will probably eat you before dawn. So you can imagine how much you weirdo can have.
Disaster Triumphant reminds me a lot of what Ashbringer did on Subglacial—a rawer and more straightforward version of the band’s sound. You’ll be hit with the same endearing riffs for long stretches. It really honors the Dialectic of the Enlightenment—oh yes, I read my Frankfurt School authors. I know what these guys are doing lyrically. That social criticism that hides behind all the noise is what really sets Bonjour Tristesse apart from the people singing about goat-impaling. It’s smart, it’s angry, and it’s unafraid to wear its intellect on its sleeve.
Okay, I’m going to be a party-pooper here, but I’m just a sucker for the old sound. Disaster Triumphant feels just a bit more conventional. It’s atmospheric Black Metal done by people with talent and a budget, but it has the issues of the niche. Ideas just simmer a bit too long for my taste. The same riff can smack us for two minutes. I’m simply not depressed enough to enjoy that circular punishment. A little more variation would have gone a long way.
Disaster Triumphant is a good album. It’s not as bold as Bonjour Tristesse‘s previous releases, but it does scratch that heavy urge. It’ll teach you philosophy at the same time that it smashes your face with gross riffs. All that, without compromising the emotional part—just the creative part. But if you listen to extreme Metal, you can live with that.
Label: AOP Records
Release date: November 20th, 2026
Website: facebook.com/bonjourtristesseofficial
Country: Germany
Score: 3.3/5.0
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