Belore – Eastern Tales (Review)

Belore are a French black metal band and this is their third album.

Belore play atmospheric/folk black metal, and on Eastern Tales they offer up 43 minutes of music. The material seems to swell out of nothingness to build massive soundscapes that lift the listener up and out of the real world, into the realms of fantasy and history.

Eastern Tales is rich in atmosphere and adopts a mood-focused approach to its material. The black metal components lay a firm foundation, and while there are still aggressive tendencies, the prime goal of the songs are to build and sustain the sort of comprehensive atmospheric depth that carries the listener away.

The music is quite beautiful in places, and the word epic is never too far away when you’re listening to this. A variety of folk instruments contribute to the music’s holistic approach to atmospheric immersion, and these work in concert with the grand symphonic elements wonderfully. The main screams are high pitched and sharp, just as they should be for this sort of style, and these are complemented by powerfully heroic cleans at key moments. I also enjoy the tasteful and emotive guitar solos that appear here and there.

The music has dreamy qualities that are immersive, a sense of confident majesty that grips from the start, and an epic streak as wide as its emotive layers are deep. It’s a very detailed, textured, and expressive affair, and is awash with epic atmosphere that’s absorbing. Yep, this is music to fall into, embracing the blackened worldbuilding that the band craft with such apparent ease.

Belore have created a strong album here, and have meticulously put together a well-considered and well-pieced-together work of art. Of course, how much you get out if it really depends on how much you subscribe to this particular subgenre of black metal. If you’re a fan of bands such as Summoning, Ruadh, Saor, Cân Bardd, and even Midnight Odyssey, then Eastern Tales is for you.

Highly recommended for fans of the style.