The future is bleak for Arkaist.
Emerging from the depths of Brittany under the impetus of Beobachten (guitar/bass/keyboards, live for Hanternoz and Créatures) and Maeror (guitar/vocals, Azgarath, Formoraich), the project – later joined by Gwenc’hlann An Teñval on bass and Cryptic on drums – signed to Antiq Records for the release of its debut album, Aube Noire.
The album opens with Aube Noire, an eponymous composition with an Old School mix and jerky riffs that reinforce the very raw aspect of this manifesto of despair, whose aggressiveness is matched only by the melancholy of its haunting final. The atmosphere established with the two voices disappears, but it remains heavy with Ode à la haine, where keyboards join the cries of revolt, but the track’s title is relatively equivocal, and it’s no surprise to hear the instrumental ignite to become much more hazy. The sound becomes more majestic for Prophet of the Blood, with the drums in particular managing to temper the mysterious, mystical surge for a while, eventually metamorphosing into a wave of catchier brutality before returning to its dark wisps. The choirs return to Terre Ancestrale, infusing the composition with a Pagan energy before returning to the most impure Black Metal, then blending the two worlds in an intoxicating slow-burn. The keyboard-led final allows us to pause in the midst of epic sonorities, before Anachorète returns to fury with frantic riffs that perfectly know how to become cold and airy for a few moments of anguished quietude, but it’s with a striking contrast between brutality and melody that the track reaches its final. Touches of Doom greet us on Linceul d’Ether, setting the tone for the long oppressive creation – although there are some much livelier moments – which takes possession of our minds and lets them wander to the sound of the sharp leads. At times, we can almost feel a touch of light, but the vocal sample confirms the contrary, guiding us after a final burst to Puer Aeternus, the last composition whose climate is clearly more tense, moving from a wave of suffocating darkness to more or less ferocious hints of aggression that take us by surprise and punctuate the final moments until silence.
Black Metal is more than just music for Arkaist, it’s a means of conveying their rage, contempt and hatred through Old School sounds forged in darkness. Aube Noire will undoubtedly find its place on the shelves alongside the gems of the past.
90/100