This is the second album from French solo black metal band Archvile King.
I enjoyed my time with 2022’s À la Ruine, so a new record from Archvile King is not unwelcome at all. Aux Heures Désespérées boasts 47 minutes of new material, and it’s pretty damn good.
These new songs are, on average, longer than those of the debut record, and have been developed to a greater degree of lethal depth. This time around the music blends black, heavy, and thrash metal, providing the listener with a mixture of the three that’s highly compelling.
Aux Heures Désespérées is raw and atavistic, yet well-delivered within this. It’s vicious blackthrash, but only to a point; with an injection of heavy metal vitality and icy second wave darkness, it’s potent stuff. There are galloping guitars, rich serrated melodies, and fierce drumming. The artist has a selection of scything riffs to choose from, and unleashes vocals that sound like they’re coming from Hell’s own underworld. Aux Heures Désespérées offers a strong package.
The artist has crafted a venomous collection of songs that are imbued with epic heavy metal flair. It’s a slightly unusual, but winning combination. Overall, it’s obviously black metal, and manifests as such, but the classic base style has been enhanced in key places by heavy metal influences that really elevate the material in unexpected ways. The songs can go from coldly brutal hostility to stirring metallic melodies to raging blackened aggression to fist-pumping rhythmic meatiness, and back again, without breaking a sweat. We even get patches of immersive medieval atmosphere here and there too.
Aux Heures Désespérées delivers a different spin on an ancient style that’s moreish, enjoyable, and engaging. The album feels very honest and authentic – this is music played for the love it, and that’s it. It doesn’t hurt of course that the artist behind Archvile King clearly knows what he’s doing. Well-written, well-delivered, Aux Heures Désespérées is a very satisfying record to listen to.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 