Archvile King - Aux heures désespérées (2026)

Archvile King's debut saw the immediate rise of a new force in French black metal, perhaps lacking in the dissonant nuance of that scenes most popular artists like Blut Aus Nord of The Great Old Ones, but just a riff driven, scathing record with a bit of a black/thrash influence. When you gaze upon its successor, Aux heures désespérées, you immediately get the impression that they've gone rank and file with the other French bands performing in the Medieval theme, and where that was also true of the debut to an extent, it's even more here. In fact, this album does drop a little of that thrashier nastiness for something more atmospheric and antiquated sounding, but make no mistake, the sole guy responsible here, 'Baurus', is still writing excellent black metal, and the fact that he is performing ALL the instruments makes it even more impressive.

The lush synth/orchestration that he weaves through the album is excellent, usually for intros so that the bodies of the songs have a more traditional BM structure, but they're all great at giving a little bit of a tasty dungeon synth element to the proceedings. As for the heavier stuff, it's majestic and surging, not as overly melodic as other bands in this niche, but enough that the riffs will seer themselves into your memory and leave you with that fulfillment that a very balanced black metal attack can give. Certainly, there are some riffing and blasting passages throughout that are purely savage and feel like they came out of the din of the early to mid-90s, but even these are contrasted off against more graceful, slower rhythms to great effect. Baurus' vocals are nothing unusual for the genre, some rasps with an added layer of guttural, but always a blend of glorious and creepy. The instruments are all mixed really well, with audible bass lines that enforce the majesty and morose intensity constructed by the melodies. The beats are mixed very well, they largely just do their job but the guitars and atmosphere are strong enough that no more is necessary.

Yes, a lot of this is old hat, you won't find a bag of new tricks in Archvile King's composition, although the precise way it all forms together doesn't always emulate any other bands in particular. This is totally for fans of the 90s black metal, were it was going from the necro creep of earliest second incarnations to the more expansive, semi-symphonic rush of records like In the Nightside Eclipse, Nemesis Divina and Stormblast. If you also like some of this bands' countrymen, Aorlhac or Seth or Darkenhöld then this is one of easiest recommendations I can make you, because Baurus has that same sense of proficiency in both performance across all his instruments, production, and knowledge of genre to create a 47 minute escape into the past, without any breaks of disappointment in the consistency. An awesome talent with a high level of potential, and already two very underrated records (and a good split) under his belt.

Verdict: Win [8.7/10]

https://archvileking.bandcamp.com/

Simulacre/Archvile King - Split (2022)

This was a pretty promising split for me, as I was highly impressed with the Archvile King full-length debut À la ruine from earlier this year, but had not heard their original 2020 EP Vile, which is included here in its entirety. Much like that album, their style is a sinister melodic black metal which does have its tendencies towards some black/thrashing elements, although those would be in the minority. The four tracks on this one are pretty good, especially in the riff department for "Bastards of the Sea" and the more patient, eerie "The Feast of the Worm King" which is one of the best songs musically I've heard from them. I will say that I didn't like the vocals quite as much here, the deliver just feels a bit too passive or casually in how its laid out over the much superior music, but we all know that has been fixed now with the full-length and its a small complaint for some pretty damn fine tunes, it's not like they don't fit or are bad. Also, there's a cut titled "Gwyneth Paltrow is a Lich", which had me in stitches, but musically at least it fits with the rest around it.

But I'm kind of covering this in reverse, because the band that fronts this split, Simulacre from Bourdeaux, is also really good, and it is their contributions that I liked a little more due just to the vocal mix. I feel that the styles pair up enough to make the split function, they both play French black metal with a heavy nod to the 90s Scandinavian classics, but where Archvile was in their early stages and having a little more 'fun' with it, Simulacre is more wanton, dreary, perhaps even a dash elegant or Romantic in its delivery, with searing rasps, and wonderfully textured guitars both distorted and acoustic. When these guys pop out a tremolo picked riff, its quite evil, as in "Les Voix du Sang", but also has a richness and warmth to it which was unexpected and really stands out. The drums and bass have a busy vibe to them, almost as if there's a subtle influence from anything from Latin to prog rock, and there's an interesting tendency not to try and flood the listener with walls of chords, but more delicate and intricate melodies, leads, and giving it all a little more of an organic space to breathe...fans of Seth's newest album, or maybe the more Medieval styles of Aorhlac and Vehemence should dig it.

Remarkable, another great pickup for this label and a band I'm looking forward to hearing more from, since they've yet to unleash a full-length themselves. As for Archvile King, the material here is solid as a set-up for the much superior À la ruine, and certainly enhances the split's value, but if you are new to them then I'd head STRAIGHT for that album, because it's really good and I haven't heard nearly enough people talking about it. Either way, if you love French black metal and want to dive more into this newer crop of bands who are sprouting forth while the debatable 'Big Three' are still going strong, here are two example of bands with something worth paying attention to.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://simulacre.bandcamp.com/releases
https://archvileking.bandcamp.com/

Archvile King - À la ruine (2022)

The blackened thrash/speed metal niche has been exploding for quite some time now, and rightfully so, because it presents some of the most exciting, dangerous, and authentic feeling music in the genre. But if I'm being honest, I can't recall a lot of such bands hailing from the French scene, a situation Archvile King hopes to right upon their full-length debut. To be fair, À la ruine doesn't go quite to the leather & spikes limit quite as much as many of their international counterparts...there is no real sense that this band is here to party on your skull like Venom did in 1980. No, this is more of a nasty, sinister early 90s black metal sound with a few rhythmic breaks that hearken to the classic Bathory years, maybe molded through a sense of rhythm and melody that was later expounded upon by others of the Swedish scene, like Dissection, Dark Funeral or more recently a Watain or Vampire.

It's another record that opens with some great, rustic acoustics and a female spoken word, that don't quite set you up for what's to come, but are quite nice sounding regardless (and the acoustics do return). The meat of this album, however, is mid-to-fast paced, searing and evil black metal delivered through streams of bleeding chords and the occasional serpentine sense for melody. Vocals have a harsh, repressed rasp to them which is often paired up with a more narrative, barking style not unlike the notorious Famine from the same scene, and I do like a few of these moments a lot, they stand out quite well against the rapid rhythmic substrate. As for the strength and quality of the guitars, there are certainly moments that stand out in cuts like "Celui qui vouvoie le soleil" or "Dans la forteresse du roi des vers"; even if a lot of what they play does feel rather conventional in structure, you are going to be slapped in the face with those 'moments' that will swell your appreciation for the effort.

Production is that raw/clear hybrid that was prominent in the classic efforts of the 90s, and I think fans of such classics as In the Nightside Eclipse, The Somberlain and Born of the Flickering will get a real charge out of it. The melodies and restrained leads are all well placed, the beats sound great forcing this forward like the undead army on the march, and yet there's a pretty good variety of tempos here, from the memorable acoustic, atmospheric guitar segues (like the title track) to the slower, double-kick powered sections that roll over you with their power. What's even more impressive is that this is, as far as I can tell, the product of a single musician...yes, the 'bedroom' or 'basement' black metal act continues to evolve into one that can rival even the most seasoned, full-rostered bands! À la ruine is really well put together, and an easy recommendation to fans of both the Scandinavian classics of decades past, or the more historical, Medieval French black metal circa Aorhlac,  Sühnopfer or Véhémence. This record kills, so check it out and boost the signal!

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://archvileking.bandcamp.com/