Exanimis - Marionnettiste (2021)

“Marionnettiste” is the debut album from French symphonic death-metal band Exanimis. They describe it as an atmosphere of horror and fantasy with the heaviness and technical intricacies of metal. That sounds right up my street. Don’t confuse them with the Australian band of the same name who disbanded in 2015, this bunch are former students of the Music Academy International and coincidentally formed in the same year.

In Latin, exanimis means lifeless or dead, and this is certainly reflected in the band’s image (but definitely not in their music). French bands seem to have a penchant for the theatrical. Like 6:33, Igorrr, Öxxö Xööx and others before them, they embrace the burlesque to enhance the complete experience. What an experience it is too, marionnettiste translates as puppeteer and this album transports you through a mystical adventure with a grotesque fairground/carnival ambience.