EP Review: Ixion – Extinction (Finisterian Dead End/Season of Mist)
French atmospheric doom collective Ixion return with their fifth studio album, divided into three parts with Part 1, Extinction, set for release on the 16th of April.
Four years after the release of their critically lauded fourth album, L’Adieu aux Etoile, French atmospheric doom collective Ixion return with L’Adieu aux Etoiles’s natural successor. The full album, Evolution is described as delivering an enthralling blend of progressive metal and melancholic and atmospheric doom. Across these three parts, starting with Extinction, Ixion tell a concept and fictional story about the evolution of mankind and the interrelation with androids. Extinction is the first part of the album, the first chapter in the story, and questions how humanity will struggle with mortality in a world where android technology is rapidly growing and dominating.
Originally formed in 2004 as a solo project by main composer and multi-instrumentalist Julien Prat, Ixion have carved out a special place within the doom scene, with their singular blend of ambient/electronic music and atmospheric doom metal, drawing inspiration from science-fiction. Ixion formed in 2004 in Pontivy, Rennes, becoming a duo when Yannick Dilly joined with Julien Prat a few years into existence. They released their debut album in 2011 titled To The Void and really announced themselves with that gathering praise from critics, listeners and award nominations. 2015 saw the release of Enfant de la Nuit, 2017 saw the release of Return before L’Adieu aux Etoiles came in 2020. Taking us all the way up to 2024 and Extinction.
Ixion is Julien Prat on all instruments and vocals with Yannick Dilly on vocals.
This first part of Evolution, Extinction, gives us 5 tracks and around 21 minutes of new music to become engrossed in, getting underway with The Withering Of The Flesh. If you are familiar with Ixion at all, or even the notion of atmospheric doom, you will have an idea of what to expect. Melancholic piano melody starts the song off, building gently and patiently with an orchestral vibe. It grows, it evolves, as guitars and then drums join in all sounding stunning, yet sad. The vocals join, clean and soothing, creating a very layered sound that fully surrounds you.
The harmonising in the vocals is on point in a song that exhudes class. Darker sections hit, bringing a whispered growl before a transition back into an ethereal sound led by tinkling melody and those softened cleans. A song that keeps giving though, both styles then combine before leading into a gorgeous solo that gently leads us to the end leaving me well and truly gobsmacked. That is a stunning start to Extinction.
In Fear Of The Machines continues to showcase Ixion as an immense talent with an astonising ability to generate feeling and atmosphere. There is a much darker vibe to the song, especially in it’s early sections, with a nice chunk to the bass and drums and dark, growled vocals. Winding melody from lead guitars and backing atmospherics keep everything glued together as the tempo lifts just a little. Everything feels dark and threatening, when piano melody starts to gently peer through the darkness. A change in guitar tone alongside that melody transforms the song into a gorgeous track utilising the stunning clean vocals again. As the song builds, it does switch back again to the darker style, with the smooth transitioning really keeping your attention fully focused and within the music.
The Weight Of Ignorance takes both the darker, and more melancholic styles and instead of transitioning between them, joins them together to deliver a weighty track. Clean vocals and melody at the forefront, darker vocals and a little crunch to the guitars backing it all. It’s a superb and all encompassing sound with multiple moments that make you sit up and take notice. It’s so easy to get lost in the song and it’s hypnotic winding where little moments take you deeper down the rabbit hole. A little tinkle of melody, or added drum fill or the meandering solo – just moments of extra intelligence in already very intelligently written songs.
We near the end of Extinction with the penultimate track, A Chimeric Dream Part 1. A short song that makes a big impact. The clean vocals soar higher and with more power than before, giving quite an epic vibe and the slightly raised tempo adds another edge to the song. Within it’s dreamy nature, there are plenty of moments where the prominent sound is a goold old fashioned guitar riff and drum beat. Of course Ixion are as far away from old fashioned as possible so there are also plenty of moments where the sound is piano based, or mesmerising solos or even bells.
Moving on, Ixion close out with another shorter track called Afterlife. It is led in to nicely by the previous song with the bells and melody creating a smooth transition to Afterlife. The clean singing continues, but now backed by some impressive drawn out growls. They soon fade away though as the forceful nature of the start of the song winds down and we move into a calming, piano section that plays out a hypnotising, melancholic melody that slows as it gently fades out to a close, leaving me feeling a mixture of emotions as well as being desperate for more.
Ixion demonstrate an amazing array of talent within the band and across Extinction. Their ability to create engrossing atmosphere is so impressive and the emotions that come through are powerful and affecting. Song writing skills are clearly mastered here with everything flowing well across the 5 tracks, but also with every song, and moments in songs, feeling like it belongs and has a clear purpose. I felt genuinely involved as I listened to Extinction where I felt it speak to me, pull on my heart strings, and felt transported into their world.
I can see Extinction hitting the mark with any lover of any style of atmopsheric music and while it feels a little odd reviewing an EP, knowing it is part of a bigger piece of work, if nothing else it has just left me absolutely desperate to hear the rest of Evolution, and listen to it in it’s entirety. Until the next part comes, Extinction will be more than satisfying as it is such an astonishingly accomplished piece of art.
Ixion Links
Website – Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube – Spotify – Finisterian Dead End
Ixion - Extinction (Finisterian Dead End/Season of Mist)
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The Final Score - 10/10
10/10