Ølyp at Péniche Légia: Photo Special & I(m)MORTAL Album Review

Leestijd: 8 minuten

There is something inherently cinematic about instrumental metal. Without a vocalist to dictate the narrative, the listener is left alone with the music, free to construct their own images, emotions and interpretations. On their debut album I(m)MORTAL, French instrumental progressive metal duo Ølyp fully embrace that freedom, creating a record that feels less like a collection of songs and more like an immersive journey through landscapes, emotions and the increasingly fractured relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Released through Klonosphère Records/Season of Mist, I(m)MORTAL introduces Ølyp as a project with a clear artistic identity. The duo of guitarist and bassist Thibaud Lépicier and drummer David Annenkoff combine the crushing weight of post-metal with the intricate structures and technical precision of modern progressive metal. Their music moves constantly between opposing forces: heaviness and fragility, chaos and control, contemplation and explosive intensity.

The album’s central themes are deeply rooted in the tensions of contemporary life. Humanity’s impact on nature, the environmental crisis and the growing individualism of modern society all form part of the conceptual foundation of I(m)MORTAL. Yet Ølyp never turn these subjects into a straightforward musical manifesto. Instead, they translate them into atmosphere, dynamics and contrast. The result is music that can feel enormous and deeply personal at the same time.

From its most devastating riffs to its quieter, more reflective passages, I(m)MORTAL thrives on dynamics. Ølyp understand that heaviness becomes more powerful when it is given room to breathe. Their compositions can gradually build from sparse and atmospheric beginnings before erupting into massive walls of guitar and rhythm, only to retreat again into moments of fragile beauty.

That approach places the band firmly within the contemporary progressive and post-metal landscape, while allowing them to develop a character of their own. The influence of bands such as The Ocean, Psychonaut, Russian Circles and Night Verses can be felt in the way Ølyp balance technical musicianship with emotional impact. But rather than simply reproducing those influences, the duo uses them as a foundation for something more expansive and personal.

Photo by: James K. Barbosa

One of the most striking aspects of I(m)MORTAL is the decision to remain entirely instrumental. There are no vocals to provide an explicit narrative or tell the listener how to interpret the music. Instead, Ølyp let the instruments carry the emotional weight. Guitar, bass and drums become the voices of the album, while carefully constructed arrangements create an almost cinematic sense of movement.

That cinematic quality is further enhanced by the presence of several guest musicians. Violinists Pauline Henric and Zoé Sallefranque, violist Sylvain Rullier and cellist Eugénie Ursch contribute additional layers of texture and emotional depth to key compositions, including Solace, Molden and The Great Denial – Part 1 & 2. Their string performances add another dimension to Ølyp’s already expansive sound, reinforcing the album’s sense of scale while creating moments of tension, vulnerability and melancholy.

Ølyp live at Péniche Légia, photos by: Seth Abrikoos

The contrast between the crushing and the delicate is perhaps where I(m)MORTAL finds its greatest strength. The album is capable of sounding enormous without becoming directionless, while its quieter passages never feel like simple pauses between heavier sections. Instead, every change in intensity feels like part of a larger narrative.

There is also a strong sense of place embedded within Ølyp’s music. The project was founded in the Norwegian fjords before relocating to France, and that connection to vast natural environments seems particularly fitting given the album’s thematic focus. The music frequently evokes the feeling of standing before something immeasurably larger than oneself: mountains, oceans, forests, storms or landscapes altered by human intervention.

Ølyp live at Péniche Légia, photos by: Seth Abrikoos

This relationship between scale and vulnerability is essential to I(m)MORTAL. The title itself suggests a contradiction — something simultaneously mortal and seemingly eternal. Ølyp explore that contradiction not through literal storytelling, but through sound. Their compositions can feel monumental and timeless, yet they are ultimately concerned with a very human anxiety: what happens when our relationship with the world around us becomes increasingly disconnected?

The production also plays an important role in translating those ideas into sound. Recorded by Chiaran Verheyden on drums and David Castel on guitars, bass and strings, with Verheyden also handling the mixing and mastering, the album maintains the weight and clarity necessary for progressive metal while preserving the atmosphere that defines Ølyp’s approach.

Ølyp live at Péniche Légia, photos by: Seth Abrikoos

At the centre of the record are Lépicier and Annenkoff. Lépicier’s guitar and bass work provide the harmonic and textural framework, moving from delicate atmospheric passages to towering riffs, while Annenkoff’s drumming provides both the physical impact and rhythmic complexity that drive the compositions forward. Together, they create a sound that feels remarkably expansive for a two-piece.

What makes I(m)MORTAL particularly compelling, however, is that its ambition never overwhelms its emotional core. Ølyp are clearly interested in progressive structures and technical detail, but the music is ultimately about feeling. The precision serves the atmosphere rather than the other way around.

Ølyp live at Péniche Légia, photos by: Seth Abrikoos

Their debut therefore works on several levels. It can be appreciated as a technically accomplished progressive metal record, as a powerful post-metal experience, or simply as an evocative instrumental soundtrack for reflection. The absence of vocals leaves plenty of room for the listener to bring their own experiences into the music.

With I(m)MORTAL, Ølyp establish a musical world built around contrasts: human and nature, fragility and power, beauty and destruction, isolation and connection. It is an album that does not offer easy answers to the questions it raises. Instead, it asks the listener to stop, listen and consider the world from a different perspective.

And that may ultimately be the greatest strength of Ølyp’s debut. I(m)MORTAL is not merely an album about environmental anxiety or modern alienation. It is an attempt to turn those feelings into something tangible: something vast, immersive and emotionally resonant.

On release day, September 25, 2026, Ølyp brought I(m)MORTAL to life on stage at Péniche Légia in Liège, Belgium, celebrating the album’s arrival with a dedicated release show alongside fellow Belgian acts URSA and The Great White Nothing. Seth Abrikoos was there in Liège on release day to capture Ølyp’s release show on behalf of the band, and in this review we also present a special photo feature from the evening.