AORLHAC from France released their third album “L’Esprit Des Vents” in 2018, completing a trilogy that began with the debut “A La Croisée Des Vents” and continued with “La Cité Des Vents”. After a seven-year hiatus, this third full-length was their first release under revered Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions. And they certainly managed to land deep in the affluent Black Metal scene in France and the surrounding area, as this record, along with their other releases, are now re-issued with a remastering in standard formats. At first listen, this record may not seem remarkable, but it reveals depth and complexities with repeated spins. AORLHAC draws on medieval epochs and Occitan history, invoking battles, cunning villains and saints through rich melodies and atmosphere. Their style of singing in their native tongue echoes the tradition of grand old French Metal bands of the 1980s with an expert blending of influences from “Dark Medieval Times” era SATYRICON, early EMPEROR, SACRAMENTUM and DAWN. Judging the earlier two releases, this album captures a more mature sound, maintaining a good balance between aggression and melody. It expertly weaves in elements from classic melodic Black Metal, while carving out its distinctive French identity. The tracks are carefully composed, showcasing a blend of tremolo-picked riffs in fast tempo and a more refined approach in building captivating moods. One standout aspect of this record is its storytelling. The lyrics connect to historical tales, providing a proud nod to the past, while pushing forward musically. One can say, besides compositional creativity, it’s the poetical lyrics in French and the vocals that make AORLHAC stand out of the masses of Black Metal bands. The album also introduces more guitar solos and dynamic drumming, particularly from Ardraos, adding to its rhythmic complexity. Here the remastered version now can give more details of all the instruments, while retaining the atmosphere intact. And the compelling output expressed more on the creativity of Julien Ginez (guitars, bass, songwriting) and the possessive delivery of Spellbound on vocals. While some may find the album’s nearly hour-long runtime challenging, it allows for a rich exploration of its themes. From the 10 tracks of the record, ‘La Révolte Des Tuchins’ stands out for its intense impact and memorable guitar solos. ‘Infâme Saurimonde’, ‘1802/1869 – Les Méfaits De Mornac’ and ‘Mandrin, L’enfant Perdu’ offer a deeply delicate experience into the medieval contexts, while ‘Une Vie De Reclus (Quand Les Remparts Ne Protègent Plus)’ shines with its melodic charm. The closing title track, an instrumental, brings everything to a thrilling climax. This marks a fitting conclusion to their trilogy, finely blending mysticism, ancient history and music into a compelling narrative. The album can be rewarding for fans of Black Metal, and its beautiful artwork by Stan W.D adds to its appeal. This re-issue and all AORLHAC latest re-releases are now available in CD (with DIN A5 sized digipaks) and 12″ vinyls (limited edition, 2 colors) formats. If you missed their earlier work, now is the perfect time to dive in. To find out more about the band and label, please visit www.facebook.com/aorlhac or www.facebook.com/ladloproductions.

During the last years, the Black Metal scene in France literally exploded and unleashed a lot of great stuff unto the hordes of genre lovers with a certain foible for unique stuff. One of the driving forces behind that development was the the label Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions from the town of Champtoceaux in the historical French area Anjou. Thus I was pretty much excited to review this album, the third of AORLHAC after a seven year break and their first for Les Acteurs De L’Ombre. When I heard the album for the first time, I was quite disappointed. AORLHAC (the Occitan name of the band’s home town Aurillac) reminded me very much of an extremely melodic mix of IMMORTAL and early IN FLAMES, or comparable acts from Gothenburg of the mid 1990s. But the more I listened to “L’Esprit Des Vents”, the more I learned to like it. But not only because I still dig the old albums from Gothenburg and IMMORTAL. It’s the French lyrics and vocals that make AORLHAC stand out of the masses of melodic Black Metal bands. Somehow bands like SORTILÈGE, DEMON EYES or H-BOMB came to my mind, these grand old French Metal bands of the first half of the 1980s. And it definitely is the same fascinating uniqueness that AORLHAC shares with these bands, the special way of French bands playing a melodic style of Metal, even if it is an extreme kind of Metal. With this special ingredient, songs like the furious opener ‘Aldérica’ or ‘La Révolte Des Tuchins’, that sends some kind greetings from IRON MAIDEN are a real joy. The epic ‘Infâme Saurimonde’ and the somehow even rocking ‘Mandrin, L’Enfant Perdu’ turn out to be real highlights of the album. Another fine and really melodic tune is ‘Une Vie De Reclus (Quand Les Remparts Ne Protègent Plus)’. And the final ‘L’Ora Es Venguda’ carries highest speed and melodies to extremes. It’s up to the acoustic outro ‘L’Esprit Des Vents’ to calm down an album that took a little time and a few more runs to be a really fine one that continues the fine tradition of Les Acteurs De L’Ombre. For more information visit www.facebook.com/aorlhac or www.facebook.com/ladloproductions