Opera Multi Steel – Apparences De L’Invisible + Au Fief Des Rémanences (DCD Album – Meidosem Records)
Genre/Influences: Gothic, dark-wave.
Background/Info: This double album features a re-edition of the album “Apparences De L’Invisible” originally released in 2014 (the previous studio work of OMS) and the new work “Au Fief Des Rémanencesé”. Notice by the way the new album is also available on vinyl..
Content: There’s less to say about “Apparences De L’Invisible”. It remains a typical OMS work revealing French sung songs. The lyrics are poetic and dealing with desolate themes. It’s dark and dreamy music.
The new work “Au Fief Des Rémanencesé reveals a band in good shape. The sound has evolved over the years, becoming more melodic and electro-wise, but still faithful to the original sound of the band. You still will find this artistic harmony between electronic structures and authentic instruments.
+ + + : I can”t say OMS has reinvented their sound, but they clearly have evolved and unleash a more electro- and melodic work than ever before. I like the alteration between electro-driven passages and folk-goth inspired parts. Sometimes into a kind of ‘chanson’-genre and next into pure reverie, the album is a truly accomplishment from a band with a unique sound- and song approach.
– – – : I always have missed some kind of passion in the way of singing, but at the other side it also accentuates the lyrical content. OMS is into poetry, using beautiful words and sentences, but the style is sometimes a bit too pompous.
Conclusion: Opera Multi Steel seems to be not really affected by the weight of time or the less of inspiration. Both albums together reveal a band that has evolved with time while holding on their sound.
Best songs: “Mirage Fatidique”, “Infini Sidéral”, “Plus Qu’Imparfait Du Suggestif” + “Le Coup De Grâce”, “L’Emotionnel”, “Les Litanies”.
Rate: (7).
Artist: www.facebook.com/tanlan.oms17
Label: www.waverecordsmusic.com / www.facebook.com/waverecords
About Opera Multi Steel
Opera Multi Steel formed in Bourges, France, during the winter of 1982-1983, with founding members Franck Lopez, Patrick L. Robin and Catherine Marie. The project mixes coldwave, minimal wave and synthpop with medieval and Renaissance references across its music, lyrics and visual presentation, and its earliest recordings circulated on cassette before the band moved to vinyl and CD. The debut album, “Cathédrale,” followed in 1985 on the band’s own label, with “Les Douleurs De L’Ennui” (1990) and “Stella Obscura” (1992) continuing the catalogue.
The band’s sound grew more melodic and electro-oriented on later work, including “Apparences De L’Invisible” (2014). Opera Multi Steel went on to release “D’Une Pierre Deux Tombes” (2021) and “Les Passions Tristes” (2023), and in 2026 Wave Records reissued “Les Douleurs De L’Ennui” as a remastered 35th-anniversary edition. The double album reviewed here pairs a re-edition of “Apparences De L’Invisible” with the new “Au Fief Des Rémanences,” also released on vinyl.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
