A high fantasy-set tale of tragic heroism amidst an undead uprising appears to theme Nantes, France-based solo black metal act ARCHVILE KING‘s sophomore full-length album where the artist further refines their modus unto ‘epic’ melodic voicing. With less interest invested in the hokum of black/thrash metal the artist appears all the more serious-faced in delivery of the fantastical melodrama of ‘Aux Heures Désespérées‘, a honing which leans into melodic leads and heavy metal inspired stride for its loft. Themes explored here present the consequence of violence and war rather than the gloria of conquer and thusly retain a bardic rather than triumphal quality which suits their warmly lit, well polished style.

Archvile King formed in late 2019 by way of Nicolas M. aka Baurus who’d chosen the name for the project with reference to the infamy of the Arch-Vile enemy from the Doom series of video games. Their original style sought its own interpretation of black/thrash metal per a moderne thrash metal palate and strong influence from melodic black metal. This’d made for a charming debut EP (‘Vile‘, 2020) where the musician’s guitar work was meticulous and their songcraft well-formed yet made average without any clear authorship, statement or general theme (see: “Gwyneth Paltrow is a Lich”). All signs were pointing to bedroom nerdcore up ’til the release of their debut LP (‘À La Ruine‘, 2022) their transformation better represented an interest in folken and/or epic melodic black metal of the French/Scandinavian sort, generally culling most of their thrash inspired movement and taking on a dark high fantasy narrative within the lyrics.

‘Aux Heures Désespérées‘ iterates upon that core idea while continuing to expand the artist’s melodic voice, inserting lead guitar phrases into form with greater frequency and feature. Though I’m not sure their compositional hand has made as great a leap as that of their EP to LP transition the quality of work and general production values here have undoubtedly been further perfected in vision and execution. Fantasy synth, dual leads and increasingly ‘epic’ and patiently formed pieces create a clearer sense of the world building applied as the overall album experience dances with its own anxious medieval light. To reinforce this though the title track, “Aux Heures Désespérées”, and “Le Carneval Du Roi Des Vers” each showcase Archvile King‘s scene setting capabilities and how a few new guitar techniques and a bit of synth help to create an immersive and tuneful portal with some advanced authorship to its gears.

Despite the soundtrack inspired ‘scapes and fantastical synth applied to the most inspired pieces here (“Sépulture”) the appeal of this second album should be obviate enough even on the most casual spin as Sognametal-like lead guitar escalations and circular runs give the album its brazen voice up front. As the album trudges on through its ~47 minute waltz other sorts of Norwegian black metal inspiration begin to bubble up (re: “Le Carneval Du Roi Des Vers”) where the rhythm tone and temperament rally around intensified pacing. Otherwise the overall effect is similar to that of the previous album.

As a fan of melodic black metal (and dungeon synth) the appeal of Archvile King‘s work is obviate as polished and perfectionist craft with some relevance to generalized high fantasy black metal style. Despite not quite fitting in with either retro-revivalist style or the heroic regalia of groups like Véhémence most all of ‘Aux Heures Désespérées‘ yet carries a quasi-medieval black metal vivance, a dynamisme which is easy to approach and immersive in its greater thread. What it lacks is a clear second or third act beyond its initial thought, a clear and sustained shift in mood or a break from the ‘ready well established modus of Side A that might carry more weight than soldiering on through. It is yet memorable and effective enough to commend as guitar driven black metal with a knack for medieval-minded melody. A moderately high recommendation.

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