vote
8.0
- Bands:
ARCHVILE KING - Duration: 00:46:39
- Available from: 01/23/2026
- Label:
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Les Acteurs De L'Ombre Productions
Take the first Satyricon, the very first Godkiller and a bit of Sühnopfer and Belenos (also due to territorial affinity), add a bit of classic metal (especially NWOBHM-style), some dungeon synth openings and shake everything well: what you will get will be the Archvile King, one-man band founded by the French multi-instrumentalist Baurus in 2019, arrived here with “Aux Heures Désespérées” at the second long-distance work of his career after the debut “À La Ruine”, dated 2022.
As you will no doubt have understood from the stylistic references stated above – and as can also be easily understood from the beautiful cover accompanying the album – what this project offers us is a compendium of fascinating and concrete medieval black metal with clear references to the historical scene of the nineties, to the delight of the many admirers of that glorious and evocative sound, capable of reawakening arcane hints without giving up the 'tack' of good old-school black metal.
On the other hand, just listen to the overwhelming opener “Riposte” to realize how little these Archvile Kings have the intention of 'beating around the bush' with infinite cinematic intricacies: their sound is an overwhelming and unstoppable flow of melodic and imaginative black metal, based on guitars richly intertwined and delightfully 'dated' in form and conception, while the synth inserts (however important in the general economy), so like the ambient ones, they are managed with great caution and a sense of proportion, so that their contribution is functional and actually enriching in relation to the final result, which thus avoids any possible hint of pomp or redundancy.
The moments in which the guitars indulge in openly classical references, as happens on the occasion of the beautiful harmonizations placed at the end of the successful “Le Carneval Du Roi Des Vers”, or in the structure of the pressing “Le Chant Des Braves”, add further salt to the already tasty recipe, giving the whole thing a naive touch that manages to combine 'metal romanticism' and nostalgia without a shadow of anachronism or flattery; the rhythms, almost constantly high and beautifully urgent, contribute to keeping the listener's concentration focused throughout the entire duration of the work, aided by the strong underlying dynamism that unites the arrangements of the various pieces.
Among the best moments of this “Aux Heures Désenpérées”, it is impossible not to include the poignant and twilight epic nature of the title track, as well as the intensity of the torrential “L'Excusé” and “À Ces Batailles Abandonnées”, but the emotional peak of the album is reached in the long and structured “Sèpulture”.
In it, in fact, between moments of overwhelming melodic black metal, synth counterpoints reminiscent of Burzum, Summoning and Evilfeast and acoustic breaks reminiscent of early Satyricon, you can breathe arcane hints worthy of the top acts of the genre; seven and a half minutes of pure medieval black metal magic, the ideal seal of an album that will make fans of the aforementioned sounds jump for joy, but which will also be able to convince, in general, all lovers of a certain way of understanding old-school black metal, by virtue of an approach to writing that is as rigorous as it is dynamic, materialized in a batch of compelling songs, pleasant to use and with multiple points of interest both in terms of style and solutions.
“Aux Heures Désenpérées” is already a candidate for a place among the most interesting black metal albums of 2026: you would do well not to miss it.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
