Darkenhöld – Le Fléau Du Roche

Written by on 17-09-2025 at 23:09.

Darkenhöld is the brainchild of three gentlemen who put their heads together somewhere in 2008, namely Aldébaran, Cervantes and Aboth. Their goal or ambition was to create a melodic black metal variant that feels atmospheric, epic and heroic at the same time. Now, so many years and no less than six albums later, you can safely say that the French have succeeded. He used a self-created world of high mountains, deep valleys, impenetrable forests, mysterious waterways and caves that could well be located somewhere in the south of France. It was not until the third album, Castellum, that he also brought the French language to life in the compositions.

In 2020, the also French Les Acteurs De l’Ombre Productions came up with the fifth album Arcanes Et Sortilèges and here, not entirely unexpectedly, is record number six: Le Fléau du Rocher. I always like to see how albums are released physically. Once again, you can be sure that the CD but also the vinyl version have been worked out with the utmost precision and attention to detail.

How do we end up in the fantasy world of these three French warriors? Exactly! With Codex De La Chevalerie we are offered a fanning collection of riffs that are epically held together by choir-like vocals, a walking bass, some dry drum parts and licks of keyboard. It hits you right away, I can tell you. Before you know it, you are standing in the middle of that impenetrable forest or on a mountain top or you see yourself as the leader of a line of soldiers on horseback who are called the cavalry. The album exudes robustness, feels grumpy and this is due to the songs that are exceptionally well put together and performed with extreme precision. Typical of French bands on this Les Acteurs De L’Ombre label is the fact that before you know it you are captured by blast parts with a melodic edge. A song like  Aorlhac has that too, for example.

The licks of keyboard do it for me here, just like the timpani, it supports the idea that some extra drama may be added to the compositions. Listen to the very dynamic, rousing Le Cortège Royal or L’ Ascension Du Mage Noir. In this last number, a bone-dry blast part, a choir and biting riffs are masterfully combined. Sometimes you get a somewhat experimental feeling embellished with thrashy parts, such as in Dans L’Antre De La Vouivre for example. Then again you are chased into the forest and the high peaks by the title number.

Don’t forget to pay attention to the instrumentals, even though they seem to be a bit lost among the other songs. The Troubadour, no, not the one by Lenny Kuhr, but this one from these French forces has (not entirely unexpected) been given a fairly pagan/folky sauce.

After so many years, the French lads of Darkenhöld have lost nothing. Their black metal is melodic, epic, heroic at times very furious but always narrative and telling in character something that is once again made to us on this Le Fléau Du Roche.

Score:

85/100

Label:

Les Acteurs De L'Ombre Productions, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. Codex De La Chevalerie
  2. Le Cortège Royal
  3. Temps Enfouis (instrumental)
  4. L’ Ascension Du Mage Noir
  5. Dans L’Antre De La Vouivre
  6. Troubadour
  7. Le Fléau Du Rocher
  8. Gardienne Des Dryades
  9. Sortilège Ancestral (instrumental)
  10. La Cavalerie Fantôme
  11. Pour le Royaume

Line-up:

  • Aboth – Drums, percussion, keyboard
  • Cervantes – Vocals
  • Aldébaran – Guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, vocals

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