Review & Full Album Premiere: Aetere, Théogonie
Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on June 3rd, 2026 by JJ Koczan
This week, French doomier-than-you’ll-probably-think-when-I-say-doomgaze two-piece Aetere will release their debut album, Théogonie, through Argonauta Records / Octopus Rising. It has apparently been some years in the works, as you can read in the PR wire background that follows, but across its six-track/45-minute span, there is no want of cohesion as regards tone, mood or ambience, as vocalist, guitarist and bassist Alice Ronzini (La Secte du Futur) and bassist, synthesist and programmer Johan Sebenne (Year of No Light) weave slow-moving, complex melodic textrures, deep in tone and immersive in atmosphere from instrumental opener “Ténébrisme” onward, a beat kept by drum machine far enough back in the mix to be present rhythmically but to give the bass, guitar and synthesizer room to become a cinematic sprawl. There are no vocals to take you out of the hypnotic fluidity they’re quickly established. Very soon the echoes become a morose wash, and in that, you can imagine all kinds of sounds from marching drums to strings to yourself crying out into the void, whatever it might evoke from you at the time.
“Galea,” which follows, is only a few seconds longer at 6:51, but it is immediately more grounded, with a forward-in-the-mix kick drum at its outset and a deep, foreboding rumble soon joined by airier synth and duly-reverbed vocals. The presence in Ronzini‘s voice becomes part of the overarching texture, and “Galea” embraces electronic sounds in a way that’s both a preface to the synthier midsection of “Cilice,” which follows, and a wistfulness in its more active second half that I’m not sure if it’s shooting for gothic, but could just as easily be read as that aesthetic if one is so inclined. The dense drone that underscores “Cilice” doesn’t necessarily contradict that notion, since the massive space it creates is its own kind of dramatic, but the band itself doesn’t feel like they’re committing to only being one thing or another, but rather to the scope of their sound itself.
The long fade of “Cilice” ends side A and is answered by the continued
rumble and affirmation of world in “Thanatos,” which makes space — honestly there’s plenty to go around — for a classically melancholic guitar solo, something that might in another context work as death-doom but on Théogonie becomes part of the pastiche. It follows that guitar line to its finish, but before it goes, the vocals return to give a sense of structure and completion to all that float. Keyboard at the beginning of “Innocence” — the longest cut on the album at 9:46 — gives an impression of ancient psychedelia or meditative ritualizing, and the initially-spoken vocals that complement bear that out, but again, this too becomes filtered through Aetere‘s purposes, and soon what seemed grounded a moment before vanishes in wisps of haze, the steady procession of drum machine present in the mix in a way that feels almost post-metallic, holding onto some sense of the terrestrial, even as the song takes off into its last, consistently-methodical solo.
Does that make “Eudaimona” a bridge back to reality? Bookending with “Ténébrisme,” the closer is also instrumental, but it’s more active rhythmically, with a chunkier bassline, a comparative uptick in tempo and a timekeeping tambourine-on-the-digital-hi-hat jangle that marks the lumbering measures as they go. It feels a bit like the skeleton of one of the other songs, but is ultimately going for something different than “Thanatos” or “Cilice,” less about emotional expression than building or in this case — since it’s the end of the record — reaffirming the world that Théogonie has built to that point. There is no ‘big finish’ coming, but like the opener, “Eudaimona” lays out its course and follows it without veering. The low end distortion — that rumble that has been so present beneath the shifting shapes of the material — is the last thing to go, as it perhaps inevitably would be, having been so central all along to the sense of doom correspondant to the reach of the surrounging atmospherics.
I don’t know where it’s headed — their sound, that is — but the feeling of dwelling in it is so palpable and so purposeful throughout Théogonie that I have to think a growth mindset is at play and that the explorations of texture and mood here will continue to flesh out going forward. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking, but if so, it’s a wish born of current accomplishments on this debut, which provides every bit of the lush, rich scope it promises at its start.
The album streams in full on the player below, followed by the aforementioned PR wire info. See where it puts you. As always, I hope you enjoy:
Aetere, Théogonie album premiere
Aetere is a French doom-metal duo formed in Bordeaux in 2017, crafting slow-burning, ritualistic compositions steeped in myth. Guided by melancholy and introspection, the project stands at the crossroads of ancient narratives and contemporary sonic experimentation.
On guitar, bass, and vocals, Alice Ronzini brings a background forged in France’s garage-punk underground (La Secte du Futur, JC Satan), later expanded into more ethereal territories through her spectral folk solo project Ailise Blake. Alongside her, Johan Sebenne shapes Aetere’s immersive sound through synths, bass, and machines, layering droney riffs and textured atmospheres informed by his work with the acclaimed post-metal ensemble Year of No Light, his ambient electro-acoustic solo project Lacustre, and earlier collaborations with Nexus Sun, Acid Bonanga, and Géographie.
The project took shape in Bordeaux, where the duo composed and recorded the six tracks that would become their debut album, Théogonie. Johan relocated to Paris and initiated the mixing process just as the global lockdown unfolded. Meanwhile, Alice moved to the rural landscapes of La Drôme, placing the project into a quiet, suspended state. When they reunited after the lockdown, Aetere awakened again: the two resumed work on the album, with Alice completing the final mix in her newly built Studio 418.
The result is a masterful exploration of doom metal’s heavier edges, softened by shoegaze haze and post-punk grit. Théogonie features artwork by Mal De Siglos and layout design by Lucia Macip, perfectly encapsulating the band’s ethereal aesthetic. Mastered by the legendary Dirk Serries (known for his work in Vidna Obmana, Fear Falls Burning, and Yodok III), the album achieves a polished yet primal resonance.
Released via Italy’s Argonauta Records — a powerhouse in stoner, doom, and sludge—the record marks Aetere’s triumphant entry into the global heavy music sphere.
Tracklist:
1. Ténébrisme (6:45)
2. Galea (6:51)
3. Cilice (8:18)
4. Thanatos (7:52)
5. Innocence (9:46)
6. Eudaimona (5:47)
