NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – February 20, 2026
Montreal Avant-Garde Metal with An Oboe DISORIENTATION Unveils New Single “The Pact” To Welcome New Members
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L-R – Daniel Daris – Bass and Dirty Semi-Acoustic Rhythm Guitar; Marie-Claude Fleury – Lead and Backing Vocals, Oboe and Noise; Laurent Bellemare – Drums and Backing Vocals; Samuel Arseneau-Roy – Lead and Rhythm Guitar
Photo Credit – Geneviève Racine
Montreal dark experimental metal band Disorientation returns with “The Pact,” a new standalone single that signals the beginning of the group’s next chapter. Following the acclaim surrounding their 2023 EP “Survival Mode,” the band now emerges as a fully formed lineup, an evolution that is both sonic and symbolic.
Formed in 2020 by Marie‑Claude Fleury and Daniel Daris, Disorientation quickly carved out a niche with their unsettling blend of harsh vocals, dissonant woodwind arrangements, and structures that defy conventional metal boundaries. Their 2021 self‑titled EP earned early praise from local fans and media outlets such as Metal Trenches and Metalperver, while “Survival Mode” pushed their sound further into unorthodox territory, drawing accolades like “oddly fascinating” (Real Gone Rocks) and “madness bottled into just wonderfulness” (The Doorway to Zine).
Now joined by guitarist Samuel Arseneau‑Roy (Spectral Wound, Basalte) and drummer Laurent Bellemare (Chthe’ilist (live), Basalte, Sutrah), Disorientation is stepping into a fuller, more organic incarnation of itself.
“The Pact” was intentionally crafted as a standalone release, an opportunity to integrate the new members quickly and establish the band’s updated identity.
“We decided to limit ourselves to a single track so we could bring our two new members into the band quickly. We had to take some extra steps to bring the music to life, but it was worth it. This is our best‑sounding effort to date,” says vocalist/oboist Marie‑Claude Fleury.
Musically, “The Pact” is a journey through tension, revelation, and unease. It opens with a distant, noisy oboe motif before erupting into a fast, jagged pace. The track shifts through abrupt stops, whispered exchanges, mid‑tempo introspection, and acoustic glimmers of light, only to be swallowed again by the return of its initial riff. The final section, driven by palm‑muted guitars and unsettling vocal textures, places the listener at a crossroads.
“Which way do you go? This is the moment where choices must be made,” adds Fleury.
Lyrically, “The Pact” explores the rapid formation of intense connections and the darker undercurrents that can accompany them.
“It’s about those people you meet and get close to very quickly. As the attachment forms, a dark side appears. Is the bond as positive as it first seemed? And where can it lead?” says Fleury.
The single’s artwork reflects this duality: two hands clasped willingly, yet bound by shackles, an alliance that is both chosen and constrained.
With the addition of Samuel Arseneau‑Roy and Laurent Bellemare, who, along with Fleury, also perform in Montreal’s Growlers Choir, Disorientation’s sound has expanded in depth and physicality.
“Having a real drum and an extra guitar player definitely improved our sound. We now sound fuller and thicker. We’re looking forward to creating more music together,” comments Fleury.
Although Disorientation has yet to make its official live debut, the newly completed lineup has already explored its chemistry through private semi‑acoustic performances, an early glimpse of the versatility and intensity they intend to bring to the stage. Their unsettling atmospheres, atypical structures, and the uncommon presence of the oboe within extreme music remain central to their identity. The band fully embraces its odd, miserable, in‑your‑face, and troubling sonic character, and with “The Pact,” they push those traits even further while solidifying themselves as a unified creative force.
Recommended for fans of Celtic Frost, Imperial Triumphant, Sear Bliss, Fear of God, and Show of Bedlam, listen to “The Pact” at the following links:
Lyric Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qolhe_eE_SQ
Add to your Spotify playlist – https://open.spotify.com/track/3xThE92nJKTHkPTGPbUAbj
Bandcamp – https://disorientationmetal.bandcamp.com/album/the-pact
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More Info:
https://www.facebook.com/disorientationmetal
https://www.instagram.com/disorientationmetal
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“Anyone who loves powerful metal and classical music will love this unorthodox fusion project.” – New Noise Magazine (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“Delving deeper into the eerie atmospherics of metal’s less-trodden path, we find Disorientation, a Montreal-based duo who eschews the symphonic metal genre’s usual dalliance with ethereal beauty, opting instead for an odyssey through sonic desolation. Born from the minds of Marie-Claude Fleury and Daniel Daris, Disorientation is the antithesis of grandeur and elegance, painting a world where the grotesque and the sublime collide.” – Idioteq (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“A really good surprise, and a magical, tragic, lysergic EP, which immerses us in a Rank Xerox universe. 8.5/10” – MetalNews.fr (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“This EP is obtuse, ugly and deeply troubled. Yet, at the same time, it’s oddly fascinating. (…) In terms of finding a way into Disorientation’s world of noise, there’s no easy route – and the duo seemingly want to keep it that way. For those who wrongly claim that extreme metal has nothing new to offer, this EP will gladly prove otherwise.” – Real Gone Rocks (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“Il risultato è a tratti stupefacente nella sua originalità, e la coppia riesce costantemente a esaltarsi grazie a trovate teatrali e visionarie.” 8/10 – Rock Hard Italia (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“DISORIENTATION sind kompromisslos schräg und nicht auszurechnen (…) die Songs und deren Stimmungsaufbau fügen sich dann doch zu einem Ganzen zusammen, das motivierend genug ist, um die Repeat-Taste zu drücken – solange bis die Kopfschmerzen nicht mehr auszuhalten sind.” – Vampster (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“Au vrai, Disorientation ne ressemble à rien et c’est finalement très bien ainsi. (…) Il n’est pourtant pas interdit de déceler dans cet EP de prime abord peu engageant, non pas une forme de beauté (il ne faut pas exagérer) mais au moins une espèce d’éclat fascinant, une lueur obsédante qui n’est parfois pas sans rappeler le King Crimson le plus halluciné. A conseiller à ceux que n’effraie pas le metal (très) extrême le plus dissonant.” 3/5 – Music Waves (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“It is madness bottled into just wonderfulness. (…) I love how it goes between symphonic, hardcore, dark metal and just experimental noise at times, there’s a lot of orchestral arrangements and just bizarreness in this band, (…) This band is just advanced in ways that you’re either going to love it or hate it.” – The Doorway to Zine (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“Moving away from the raw quality of the recording of their self titled debut EP with “Survival Mode” while Disorientation claim to have created something more straightforward this time around, that’s not the impression that we get. The Avant-garde duo instead go deeper down the rabbit hole and continue their perpetual forward motion with a ferocious and spine chilling trio of cuts that once again disorientate and disturb.” 8/10 – Metal Noise (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
“Montreal duo, Disorientation, aim to create a feeling of dizziness and nausea in the listener. If this fails, they can at least punish you with confusion. As an avant-garde metal act with a cor anglaise (English horn) and an oboe as their primary instruments, you can expect unorthodox interpretations of the metal orthodoxy. Survival Mode is their second release following 2021’s self-titled EP, and it’s the type of art that would have landed them an appointment with the hangman in sixteenth-century England as enemies of public decency. (…) Clearly, Igor Stravinsky is the main influence on this EP.” 7/10 – Scream Blast Repeat (2023 – Survival Mode – EP)
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