Release Date April 4th, 2026
Format Vinyl/Digital
Genre Stoner Metal
Origin France
Myar emerged from Lille in northern France as a four person formation featuring Nina on bass, Victorien on guitar and vocals, Paul on guitar, and Julien on drums. The name comes from a regional exclamation used when events slip beyond order, an apt tag for music shaped by fuzz, psychedelic drift, stoner grooves and doom shade. Their surroundings enter the music through images of empty land, corroded structures and abandoned northern scenery. The band joins desert rock looseness with low bass movement, twin guitar patterns and layered voices. Songs often pass conventional rock length, unfolding through gradual shifts in tempo, riff progression and volume. “Bleak Mountains” is their first full length album, arriving after concerts across northern France and several appearances outside the region.
“Bleak Mountains” was captured live at Le Grand Mix in Tourcoing during April 2025, with Edouard Reynaert handling the session. Charly Millioz completed the mix and mastering at Bora Lustral Studio, while François Andries created the artwork. The album contains six songs across 36 minutes, released independently on digital platforms and a limited 12 inch vinyl edition. The live setup leaves rough edges around the guitars, cymbals and shared vocals. Riffs arrive with physical presence, and the rhythm section has enough space to shape the longer passages.
Bass lines remain active under the guitar cycles, while the drums alternate between patient pacing and sudden acceleration. The vocals stay embedded in the surrounding distortion, adding a communal character while taking no dominant position. This choice strengthens the
atmosphere, although some lines lose definition when every voice enters at once. The mix has an earthy surface and preserves the interaction between the four musicians, which matters more here than studio perfection.
The album works best when Myar let a riff develop through small changes in rhythm and guitar texture. Psychedelic passages provide contrast, doom sections pull the tempo downward, and the stoner rock base prevents the music from drifting too far into abstraction. A few extended sections circle one idea longer than necessary, reducing the impact of the middle stretch. The production also places several frequencies close together, making parts of the guitars and vocals merge during busier passages.
These flaws are noticeable, not fatal. The material has substance, the quartet plays as a unit, and the six songs form a coherent first album with a grim northern atmosphere. “Bleak Mountains” offers strong riffs, effective pacing and enough variation to justify return visits. More ruthless editing and greater separation in the vocal mix could raise the next release higher. As it stands, this is a good debut from a group with a defined sound and several passages that remain in the head after playback ends.
|7.5
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