ANTHEMON

track-list:
Talvi
Floating Further
Shroud of Frost
Withered Smile
Against the Emptiness
…Longer than Life
Der Todesking
At Dusk… (Bonus Track Nocturnal Contemplations Demo 1998)
Nocturnal Contemplation (Bonus Track Nocturnal Contemplations Demo 1998)
Blood as a Flower (Bonus Track Nocturnal Contemplations Demo 1998)
The Dark Lights (Bonus Track Nocturnal Contemplations Demo 1998)
Coming Back to Life (My Third Birth) (Bonus Track Nocturnal Contemplations Demo 1998)
‘Nocturnal Contemplations’ demo from 1998 is added as bonus to this 2023 release.

track-list:
Anthemon Anthem (Introduction)
No Rest No Peace
Semen
Keep Dying
Another I
Parody of Man
Forgotten (Interlude instrumentale)
Reed
Meaningless
Never Born Forever Dead
Arcanes

track-list:
Above Us
Foretell Omega
Chatter of the Tube
Recall the Absence
Tuned to a Dead Channel
La chute de l’architecte
Manifold of…
Serene Eves

track-list:
Kadavreski
Print of the Sand Glass
All Is Cyclical
Weight of the Feather
Weight of the Feather (Orchestral Version Bonus track)

track-list:
Old Men & Moons
Ink Black Life Lines
When Passion Became a Scar
Through the Shockwave
Consent of Failure
Knowledge Provided Clarity
Genesis of a Renewal
The Nowhere Trip
The Unperfect Mechanics
Twists of History
No Flaring Horizons

Legendary French symphonic gothic/doom metal band Anthemon released their whole discography first time ever on streaming services via Finnish Inverse Records.
The band was formed in January 1997 and they disbanded in 2007.
During their active time they successfully released one demo, one EP and three full-length albums and one demo recording ‘The Aloïs Demos’ which was never officially released because of split up.
The band members comment:
“More than 15 years after the demise of the band, ANTHEMON can see its music made available again, thanks to the initiative of Inverse Records, without whom we, the former members, probably wouldn’t even have thought of offering it to the audience again. We actually failed to realise that there might be some demand for it.”
Sylvain Begot (April 2023):
“If I am today playing in MONOLITHE, whose notoriety greatly exceeds what ANTHEMON achieved at the time, that entity still retains a very special place in my memory. This is the first band with which I recorded a collection of songs and released it. This is the band with which I learned to compose. This is the band I first got acclaimed on stage with, with people in the audience singing the lyrics. This is the band with which I learned the perks of the music business: its joys, disappointments and betrayals. This is also the band with which I learned the notion of leadership and personality management! And it is also the band with which I expressed, sometimes clumsily, sometimes successfully, musical emotions that were really close to my heart at the time. I remember everything about this band. From the first meeting with Marc, with whom we have always formed the hard core of ANTHEMON. I remember the first awkward and stammering compositions, the search for a line-up, the musicians who came and left, the first nervously executed gig, the recording of our first demo, the arrival of Alex, Nicolas, Nathalie, Loïc, David, Ludovic…. The friendship with other French bands, such as The OLD DEAD TREE. The trip to northern Finland to mix ‘Arcanes’, then ‘Dystopia’. The crazy idea behind ‘Kadavreski’. The pride of listening to those albums all together for the first time once they were completed…All this period of time, my youth, my training as musicians and as a man, exists in my memory, in our collective band memory, and especially through the legacy that remains, namely this demo, this EP and these 3 albums of which I remain extremely proud today.”
Marc Canlers (April 2023):
“Anthemon has been an important step in my life as a man and a musician, with its ups, downs, regrets, laughter, tears and encounters. I am and will always be very proud of all that we have accomplished during the 10 years of the band’s life. I thank Inverse Records for giving Anthemon the opportunity to be distributed to as many people as possible via streaming platforms and thus giving it a second life. Finally, I send my regards to all those who have been part of the history of the band, from the beginning to the end.”
Alexandre Kohler (April 2023):
“We are thankful towards Inverse records to continue the legacy of Anthemon on a large set of streaming platforms, making it possible for new listeners to explore our sound. Anthemon was a journey for young unexperienced musicians and people who have grown together. We always tried not to repeat ourselves and you will find that some of our releases sound either glacial, mournful, or intricate, as they reflected our feelings and what we experienced in our lives at that time. For all of these reasons, Anthemon will always be an important period of my life and I hope our music will also resonate in other people’s minds.”
Ludovic Rouix (April 2023):
“The Anthemon adventure was, first of all, extremely enriching should it be on the musical side or on the human side of things. Those guys were professional, diligent and full of experience! I am and will always be very proud of everything this band has given me! Yes it was a lot of work and musical challenges, but also moments of fun and the pleasure of playing good music all together! Thanks, guys!”
Sébastien Latour (April 2023):
“I realise that I have not written this name for more than 10 years; and yet I have not forgotten anything. Anthemon was an enriching experience for me, on both human and musical levels. Beyond that, I was surprised by the discipline and organisational skills that prevailed within the band when I joined. I remember a sentence written in a famous magazine during the promotion of our second album, ‘Dystopia: Society I hate you!’ We were actually seen as rebels by some but the truth is that we got up early every Sunday morning to go to rehearsal, always remaining in a good mood and never devoid of humour. Thank you to all those who made this band alive and made this beautiful adventure possible. I will never forget those years because Anthemon is a flower that never fades away!”
Born in January 1997 as a duet, Anthemon turns into a ‘real’ band only after the release of a demo CD titled ‘Nocturnal Contemplations’ in October 1998, created with the assistance of a female singer who is not part of the band.
The good feedback of this first recording makes it possible for the band to get known into the French underground and to gather a full line-up.
In November 2000, ‘Talvi’ (‘Winter’ in Finnish), a 7 titles MCD, which reveals wider influences than the previous release, comes to life.
With this EP, the band earns a consequent reputation thanks to the good overall reception of both the press and the audience.
In 2001, Anthemon composes and prepares the recording of its first full-length album.
‘Arcanes’ takes shape while the negotiations with some labels lead to the signature with Thundering Records.
The album in released in February 2003.
‘Arcanes’ is the beginning of the collaboration of Anthemon with Ahti Kortelainen (Tico-Tico Studio, Finland), offering for the first time a production of international standard to the band.
With ‘Arcanes’, Anthemon is perceived as a skilled band, able to propose a personal music which draws the best of different musical styles to get a coherent and new mixture.
A few months later, Anthemon starts working on ‘Arcane’’s successor, an ambitious album which represents a more forward evolution of the band’s music.
During the rehearsals for the new songs, the band decides to give up the female vocals and chose to get a full time male singer instead, taking the risk to disorientate the fans.
‘Dystopia’ is released in November 2004.
The album shows a huge leap forward for the band.
By mixing their vast panel of influences through a more progressive, a darker, and an increasingly personal music, the members of the band won the bet to describe the terrible world created in the lyrics, where freedom of men is nothing but an illusion.
In early 2005, Anthemon starts the work on a new album, which is released on November of the same year.
The successor of ‘Dystopia’, carrying the curious title of ‘Kadavreski’ (contraction of ‘Cadavre Exquis'(exquisite corpse)), the band goes on with its search for symbiosis of multiple influences.
By proposing 4 titles, one of them lasting 23 minutes, divided into A Side and B side as some tribute to the progressive rock giants of the seventies, this new album shows Anthemon at its progressive peak.
Very melodic and abundant in arrangements, ‘Kadavreski’ is distinguished from its predecessors from his larger stylistic variety and an overall more violent and darker approach.
While being seriously crestfallen, Anthemon then opens up a new chapter of its career by working on a new album titled ‘Aloïs’.
The record is a concept album on the life of a fictional genius scientist Aloïs Martel.
Unfortunately, the departure of singer Loïc Malassagne and the impossibility to find a suitable replacement tolled the end of the band.
Annoyed by the multiple difficulties and line-up changes, the members of Anthemon decide to put it to rest.
Demos recorded during the album’s composition period are made available on Bandcamp in 2013.