Ainulindalë - epic black metal from France

Ainulindalë

Les chroniques d'Arda

November 19th, 2021

Metal Archives and Bandcamp do not provide much in terms of personnel details, except a pair of pseudonyms, making this essentially an anonymous four-track, Tolkien-themed EP from France of almost 15 minutes. The music works with neosymphonic and atmospheric elements. Sometimes the music is going fast, for a grandiose sensation, and sometimes things slow down, aiming for a forest-music vibe. It's three songs and an outro. The vocals are a semi-intelligible black metal growl, not really shrieking. There is also a bit of chant-like melodic vocals, which works well in this context with the harder vocals. The guitar work, working in conjunction with keyboards, provides plenty of midtempo melody to keep listeners paying attention, given that speed is present and important, though not the only strength. The drum programming is rather obvious and it's nothing to write home about; nevertheless, this French-language duo has worked on making a recording as professional as they can with the resources that they had at their disposal. The effort to give the listener quality is palpable, and that is why genre fans may be pleased with this recording, as I am. This epic black metal sounds pretty good not just in terms of the recording but also the songs themselves, with a good sense of ambition to go beyond basic songwriting.

Les chroniques d'Arda by Ainulindalë