What inspired the name of “Dream Penitence”?

Group: The name refers to an imaginary quest for creativity and transcendence.

Your music often explores themes of existentialism, despair and transcendence. What inspires you to delve into such deep and introspective topics?

Group: The texts are very often inspired by literary works, philosophical thoughts but also by a societal observation.

"In tracks like 'Nature Morte', we notice a serene and ethereal beginning that gradually evolves into intense singing, while preserving the atmospheric essence. The captivating chorus riffs leave a lasting impact. How do you strategize for these aggressive tonal changes? black metal with a melancholic atmosphere?

Group: The construction of the pieces is done in a very intuitive way, we never follow academic tuning rules, this is perhaps what leads us to create according to our desires and feelings, the compositions try to represent what we would like to hear as a listener. Another desire on our part is to see the sequel as something new with a different approach from what we have already proposed in the past.

Penitence Onirique is known for its atmospheric live performances. How do you adapt your music for the stage and what do you want to communicate to your audience during your concerts?

Group: We try to adapt our sounds to the needs of the live performances to accentuate key passages even more, all with our faces masked to help immerse listeners in our universe, we like the immersive and theatrical side when we go to see a live performance and this is our motivation.

Nature Morte explores themes of decadence, desolation and the passage of time. Can you discuss the conceptual framework behind the album and how these themes manifest in your music
Group: “Nature Morte” is based on the writings and work of René Girard who describes human history as a mechanism according to which we are inhabited by the desire of others coveting the same subject but when several people aim for the same object a rivalry is born between them which leads to a mimetic crisis where the chaos generated can only be lifted by the sacrifice of a scapegoat, this principle is omnipresent in our societies. Our singer “Logos” felt like evoking this theme in order, I think, to instill a little drop of reflection in the listeners and pique their curiosity a little.

As for music in general, we compose it before writing the texts, this is what partly inspires Logos.

As a group, you have evolved and grown over the years. What were the most significant events or challenges you encountered and how did they shape your artistic vision?

Group: It is often when we are carried away by a strong current in life that we have the choice to either struggle and tire and sink or to let ourselves go with it and reach for the branch downstream that will bring us back towards the bank. We try not to do anything by force or by constraint we let ourselves be guided by our instinct, I think of periods like COVID which allowed us to rethink our music and to experiment with new things rather than seeing this event as an encouraging evil we took advantage of it to surpass ourselves and evolve.

Black metal is a genre known for its rich history and various subgenres. How do you see Penitence Onirique fitting into the broader black metal landscape, and what sets your music apart from other artists in the genre?

Group: We evolve in this environment thanks to groups that have been pioneers but it goes without saying that each group has its own approach. We are only a sample and we try to work on our sounds with everything that inspires us. in music in the broad sense we do not want to lock ourselves into a box and keep an open mind to everything that is inspiring, each musical project is complementary we form a whole.

Your lyrics often touch on existential subjects and the human condition. How do you draw inspiration for your lyrical content and what messages or emotions do you hope to convey to your audience through your words

Group: We just try to bring listeners to reflections on principles of thought a bit like a great debate, there is also a nostalgic side on morality and human qualities which dry up with modernism all this comes to color our music.

The album cover for “Nature Morte” is both visually striking and enigmatic, leaving listeners curious about its symbolism. Could you explain the specific elements featured on the cover and what they represent in the context of the album's themes and narrative?

Group: René Girard takes the passion of Christ as the symbol of the scapegoat par excellence which finalizes the cycle of mimetic desire, which is why on the cover, we find the crown, the passion flower (the flower of passion). It was the best and most humble representation we could find to represent the whole theme of the album. It was also a somewhat roundabout way of representing it.

Looking ahead, what can fans expect from Penitence Onirique in the future? Are there any upcoming projects or releases that you are particularly excited about and how do you see your music evolving in the years to come?

Group: For the moment we are focusing on the upcoming dates and we are already working on the sequel by testing new sounds and with another approach. It is still difficult to know where we are going to go.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Any additional information you would like fans/viewers to know, please feel free to enter it below. 

Group: I would like to thank you already for the interest in our project, it's always a pleasure to interact with music enthusiasts, it's such a rich environment and we are very happy to evolve in this universe, it's stimulating . We thank the people who read us and encourage them to come and discover us if they have not already done so. Good luck to you and long life to music.