This is where it all began for the French duo CÉNOTAPHE. “La larve exulte”, their first demo, originally released on tape by now-defunct label Kuunpalvelus, consists of four tracks (approx. 24 minutes), recorded between 2015 and 2016. The fundamental elements of CÉNOTAPHE’s music are already in place on this demo, in its more primitive, less sophisticated larval stage: wide and epic riffs, harrowing vocals, cryptic keyboard layers, pounding drums, abstract lyrics giving free rein to interpretation… Black metal in all its splendor and misery. “La larve exulte” marks the beginning of CÉNOTAPHE’s onward journey through cosmogony, from the deepest abyss to the empyrean heights.