Aldaaron - Nous Reviendrons Immortels

 

Genre: Black Metal

Country: France

Year: 2010

Label: Paragon Records

I have been spinning this one a lot lately. This French black metal outfit has apparently been around since 2004, but didn't release their first demo until 2007. I thought the demo showed promise, and I'm glad to see that Aldaaron not only lived up to it, but surpassed it with flying colours with this, their full-length debut. Huge, sweeping melodies and awesome folk-tinged riffs take centre stage - and when I say folk-tinged, I don't mean sugary keyboard-drenched wankery, I mean ice-cold guitar melodies that soar above the wall of sound to provide an epic, dark medieval atmosphere. The occasional acoustic guitar makes its presence known here and there, and short but sweet ambient sections add nice dynamics to the overall flow of the album. Keys are used sparingly and with very good taste,  always mixed low and adding background atmosphere as opposed to being the focal point of the music. The production is absolutely perfect, being just raw enough to create an enveloping atmosphere, but clean enough for those huge, powerful melodies to cut through. Definitely not an album to miss for those of you who appreciate medieval-flavoured black metal free of keyboard abuse and gimmicks. I can already tell that Nous Reviendrons Immortels will be one of my favourite albums of 2010. Breathtaking.

For fans of Angantyr, Windir, Aorlhac, and Mistur.

Nous Reviendrons Immortels