After the fall comes the rebirth for Hécate.
Active on the French scene between 2009 and 2020, the band’s journey came to an end after their third album. But in 2023, Nicolas Bristot (drums, ex-Ostium), Colin Forveille (bass, Scumbags), and Nox.L (guitar, No Life’s Worth, ex-Ostium) revived the project, recruiting vocalists Thomas DM (Ash Bite, Astral Lore, Helioss, Lycantrophilia, ex-Chestcrush…) and Aharon (Griffon, A/Oratos) in 2025 to release Comment est la Nuit, their fourth album, the following year.
The band enlisted Marie Noëlle on the flute and Tiphaine Glever on the cello.
The album opens with a melancholic piano on Le Roi des Aulnes, quickly followed by other tones that reinforce it while preserving its identity, before shifting it into something darker and more unsettling, and then igniting into Hymne au Clair de Lune with its icy Black Metal roots. The harmonies follow the furious rhythm section, adding a few haunting melodies between visceral vocal passages, even allowing us to catch our breath during the enchanting break that contrasts with the violence of the riffs, before tying all the elements together to create a soaring sound before moving on to the piercing Vois en dedans de moi. Vocals are terrifying, constantly fueling the visceral anxiety that runs throughout the track, which gives us few moments of respite, but the gripping riffs keep us on the edge of our seats as the vocals take turns pinning us to the ground, then we move on to Aube aux pâles Salives, which grants us a well-deserved respite before striking in turn, sweeping us away in its torrent of darkness. Here, too, we sense an intoxicating, almost soothing touch amidst all this surrounding darkness, offering truly theatrical passages while others are much simpler yet ethereal, like the final which passes the baton to Qu’une main strie la Nuit, where the anxiety is reborn, yet wrapped in that false sweetness infused with DSBM. The cold rhythm section, paired with piercing leads and heart-wrenching vocals, is utterly captivating, but it ultimately gives way to Bleu Flambant, which begins to calm, first thanks to its minimalist introduction, and then through its rhythm section, which takes on a majestic quality while remaining very dark, however there are still a few passages toward the end that are more energetic or, conversely, almost haunting. We continue with the first part of Des Regards Cueillis et des Mains Excavées, an ethereal and perfectly misty composition that lets the vocals haunt this magnificent tableau, but which eventually succumbs to aggression and races along at a brisk pace as we’re swept up in its torrent of fury all the way to Des Regards Cueillis et des Mains Excavées II, where the approach is relatively different. The band continues to skillfully place its screams, which have grown even more intense, and the instrumental arrangement is more varied, accentuating its extremes and becoming more plaintive, particularly before the Folk-rooted final that leads into Comment est la nuit, the eponymous track that offers a dreamlike touch to bring the album to a beautiful close, allowing us to emerge from this universe.
Both very dark and yet often majestic, Comment est la Nuit offers us an escape between ferocity and beauty. Just when we thought Hécate’s fate was sealed, the band has managed to rise again and deliver a sumptuous work that will leave its mark on the Black Metal landscape.
90/100