Le Point de Non-Retour: A Daring, Genre-Defying Triumph
Post-everything Paris-based outfit Point Mort have quietly built a reputation as one of the most inventive and uncompromising acts in France’s heavy music underground. Blending elements of (post)-metal, hardcore, hip-hop, electronic, and experimental pop, the five-piece have carved out a sound entirely their own—one that defies easy classification while remaining emotionally immediate and intensely physical.
‘Le Point de Non-Retour’ marks a bold and uncompromising leap forward for the quintet, a band still flying under the radar internationally but poised for much wider recognition. Their second full-length album delivers one of the most strikingly original metal records in recent memory. Far more than a traditional heavy release, it’s a fearless, genre-defying work that weaves post-metal, hardcore, black metal, electronica, hip-hop, and alternative-pop into a sound that’s both cohesive and emotionally gripping.
Released via Almost Famous Records (Clegane…) and recorded live in the studio, this is the band’s second album—an explosive step forward that’s as unpredictable as it is masterful. Vocalist Sam Pillay anchors the record with a truly astonishing range: from tortured screams to shimmering harmonies, folk melodies to rap verses. Her presence is magnetic, weaving through complex arrangements crafted by guitarists Olivier Millot and Aurélien Sauzereau, bassist Damien Hubert, and drummer Simon Belot.
Tracks like the sprawling “An Ungrateful Wreck of Our Ghost Bodies” and the haunting-yet-ferocious “The Bent Neck Lady” shift from brutal heaviness to introspective calm with surgical precision. Even shorter cuts like “Skinned Teeth” and the title track showcase the band’s gift for blending contrast—violence and beauty, structure and chaos—into something that feels wholly natural. Lyrically, the album dives deep into themes of defiance, mental and physical erosion, and existential drift. The result is cathartic, challenging, and intensely human.
“We’re not trying to reassure the listener or give them hope. We’re just passing through.” (Sam Pillay)
Some comparisons with (amazing) bands such as Brutus, Oathbreaker, Dälek, Rolo Tomassi, Deafheaven or The Ocean may offer reference points, but Point Mort ultimately resist categorization. ‘Le Point de Non-Retour’ is not just an album—it’s a mission statement. Daring, confrontational, and addictive, it’s easily one of the most vital heavy releases of the year.
