Aorlhac – L’esprit Des Vents

Aorlhac is a French Black Metal trio, one that has been around for over a decade now. In that time, they have released two full-length releases as well as a Demo, a Compilation album and s Split album with other French Black Metal acts. Next month their newest release, L’esprit Des Vents will hit the shelves, marking an end to seven years of silence from the band.

Musically, the new album stays true to the lyrical themes and source material of the bands previous releases – Revolving around medieval times, specifically in and around the French area of Occitan, where all three musicians are born and raised. Sadly I can speak very little of the quality of the lyrics being delivered, considering that I am not capable of speaking French – The tone of voice used, however, speaks very clearly of times of hardship, strife and survival, even though the exact context eludes me.

L’esprit Des Vents contains eleven tracks in total with a running time at almost fifty-eight minutes, making at a very long, very impressive release, one riddled with well-written melodies, a powerful use of all instruments involved and, most noticeable, a strong vocalist delivering the lyrics with all the emphasis and emotion one could ask for.

Aorlhac is a band that has managed to walk a very fine line between being a traditional Black Metal band and something more epic, more symphonic without becoming overly theatrical or tied to christianity, either through lyrical themes or through the use of church organs and the like. The band sticks with the bare minimum (in this case guitars, bas and drums), and instead incorporates much of their culture through the stories they weave and tell, as well as adopting a somewhat ‘French sound’, so addressed because something about the music reminds me of other French Black Metal bands – Even if I cannot pinpoint exactly why.

The most recently revealed track from this upcoming release is entitled ”L’ora Es Venguda” (which Google tells me translated into ‘The Hour is Sold’) can be found below, and serves as an excellent example of what the band has to offer a present day audience – As well as demonstrate to old-time fans that they have by no means lost any of their momentum during their extended writing period.

Recommended for fans of Malevolentia, Darkenhöld and Blut Aus Nord.

https://www.facebook.com/Aorlhac/