Doors open again for Darkenhold.
Signed to Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions, the band comprising Cervantes (vocals), Aldébaran (guitar/bass/keyboards, Artefact, ex-Continuum, ex-Ysengrin) and Aboth (drums/percussion/keyboards, Continuum, ex-Ysengrin) unveil their sixth album, Le Fléau du Rocher, in 2025.
The adventure begins with Codex de la chevalerie, where Melodic Black Metal meets medieval influences, whether in the drumming, the keyboards or Cervantes’ lyrics, who leads the progression. Choruses embellish the track before giving way to Le Cortège Royal and its energetic touches rooted in a virulent Old School approach, as much in the rhythmics as in the vocals, which at times become unhealthy, but the track is long, and it allows the trio to slow down before a last rush that leads to Temps Enfouis, an ethereal keyboard instrumental interlude. The crystalline sound breaks down to let L’ascension du Mage Noir transform the rhythm section into an occult mass where sharp leads and solid rhythm become one under the orders of the vocalist, but the band becomes increasingly aggressive, including majestic passages and Folk touches to its assault until the soaring final. Dans l’Antre de la Vouivre follows, arming itself with rather heavy and menacing tones in the accelerations, but also quite imposing during the spoken break, while we discover a more heady and almost perky touch on Troubadour, a track that ends up bursting into flames and offering a rather aggressive sound that contrasts with its catchy side. We move on to the eponymous track, Le Fléau du Rocher, which uses soaring additions to complete its rage, drowning us in keyboards before returning to rawer patterns, even going so far as to borrow martial sounds before calming down again on Gardienne des Dryades. The tone is lighter, but after a few words it returns to a more aggressive pace before giving way to Sortilège Ancestral, a new steamy instrumental interlude barely disturbed by a few percussions before La Cavalerie Fantôme charges forward, sharp harmonics in front. The only calmer passages are carefully mastered by the three musicians, who finally abandon us to the keyboards before weaving their melancholy into Pour le Royaume, where epic tones meet the rage of despair for a final rush in the colors of their influences until the end of the epic.
Darkenhold‘s art remains as dark and vindictive as ever on Le Fléau du Rocher, a new album that honors their roots. Furious melodies and medieval tones still dance together with impressive harmony.
90/100