France’s Marc Euvrie is a study in contrasts. Classically trained as a pianist and cellist in childhood, he left it all behind for the punk scene. More recent works include a mix of classical and electronic influences. And he has shed the stripped-down, do-it-yourself hardcore ethic for an ambitious trilogy project that promises to explore “the path that humanity takes over the ages.”
Since 2007, Euvrie has released or appeared on 21 albums. No two of them alike. His self-titled debut under the name The Eye of Time focused on despairing remoteness, its follow-up Acoustic was dedicated to hope.
Part two of his Myth trilogy is subtitled A Need to Survive. It comes two years after Myth I: A last dance for the things we love. The work is dark and tightly wound.
The new disc opens with “There Is So Much Pain in This World That We Have Created Robots To Share It,” a kind of post-rock Philip Glass tribute. The track’s ear-piercing potential lends additional meaning to its title.
“In the Name of Earth” intersperses a hard-hitting, distorted drum beat with a distressed choral performance and electronics. The combination isn’t exactly uplifting, but it is intensely emotive just the same.
“To Rise Through Our Tears” is the first genuinely nuanced piece. It comes just in time. The severity of the album’s first 12 ½ minutes set up track three as a welcome change of pace.
Both “A Need to Survive” and “Foldings” continue in a similar vein, before all hell breaks loose two minutes into “Notre Amour Est Assez Puissant Pour Détruire Ce Putain De Monde” (Our Love is Powerful Enough to Destroy That World Whore).
By comparison, Euvrie’s first Myth album is gentler, albeit no less dramatic. It owes a greater debt to his classical background – and despite sporting similarly grandiose titles like “God is Your Loneliness” and “Dreams are dead, but will be reborn with grounds, stones and ancient spells” – it is a less pained statement.
“The period between the release of the first two records of this trilogy is a most significant one in my life,” says Euvrie in the new album’s notes. “A Need To Survive is the perfect title to name it.
“I have fought darkness. I have faced myself. I’ve been into the deepest introspection ever, but I’m on my way to recover, and I will never be the same again. I guess I have faced the worst but most important period that everybody will face in his life. To know yourself better, to see the bad and the good things you’re capable of.”
One more contrast from a fascinating artist.