A new adventure for Les Bâtards du Roi.
To celebrate signing with Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions, Regicide (vocals/guitar), Æni (guitar/clean vocals), and Daemonicus (drums) unveil their second album, Les Chemins de L’exil.
We enter through La Forêt, the first track with an initially light but intriguing atmosphere that transforms into a veritable march into darkness, which calms down when the vocals appear, but which also knows how to integrate a few choirs to serve the explosions of fury. The trio doesn’t shy away from offering us a melancholic outro before returning to the fray with L’Âme sans repos, which offers a much more oppressive sound, both in its imposing passages and its strident harmonics, but which allows us to catch our breath during the break filled with a sampled voice. We move on to Vers l’Étoile solitaire, which begins very calmly but soon bursts into flames several times, sometimes even more intensely to convey this adaptation of Victor Hugo‘s poem Exil, punctuating its rush of hopes and misfortunes before the abrupt finale. Le Chevalier au corbeau is introduced by the cries of birds announcing a new mist at a variable pace, galvanized by solid drums giving way to two types of vocals that respond to each other beautifully, finally joining Ord vil merdos, where hubbub reigns. The sweet melody that accompanies it also ends up emboldened and joins the dark side where violence and majestic tones walk together in the market, which displays both its chaos and its beauty before leaving it behind to return to tranquility on Le Val dormant. The clear sound introduction does not last, allowing saturation to take over while maintaining this airy atmosphere, transforming the long composition into a striking lament, particularly when the contrast is at its strongest, before returning to a more martial advance on Les Chemins de l’exil, the eponymous title track, which is initially very directive. The vocals also follow suit, but the ensemble allows itself a short pause before resuming at full speed with the catchy La Chevauchée cadavérique, where the chivalrous approach meets a playful macabre touch, but also much more imposing moments when the orchestrations join the convoy. Keyboards welcome us to the very long Sous la Couronne de l’éternité, the last track, which takes the time to create a soothing atmosphere before darkening in turn, bringing a stifling gloom in perfectly managed waves until the very last moment.
In just over a year, Les Bâtards du Roi has clearly reached a milestone. While the band was still finding its feet with its first album, Les Chemins de L’exil is an excellent album with a distinct identity between visceral darkness and sharp melodies. A commendable progression!
90/100
