Imagine lyrics deeply based in the world of fantasy, heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) or George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire). Add in inspiration from the fantasy video game world of Diablo. Melodies are abundant and inspire a world of battle and wars, complete with cinematic orchestration, flaming guitar riffs and leads, pulverizing drums, and plenty of speed. I am clearly describing a power or progressive metal album, and the album cover initially had me thinking I had misread the album description. Except I am actually describing an incredibly well written album of epic symphonic atmospheric black metal. Confused yet?

Epic black metal band Darklore hails from Australia and recently released “The Great Elven War,” an 8-song album of extreme metal that blends the bombast of symphonic metal, the ambiance of atmospheric black metal, and embellishes it with killer polyphonic melodies pitting keys and guitars against each other atop thunderous drums. The vocals identify as tormented blackened growls that remain intelligible and are surprisingly melodic in their brutality. The drums are notorious, determined to constantly crush you while blasting and blazing. The guitars power forward while offering a variety of lead driven melodies that are complemented by confident synths, many times in dueling polyphonic fashion. The songs are long and story-driven, taking their time to develop much like an epic fantasy novel that the band takes influence. Deeply ingrained fantasy themes in black metal is not unheard of, though honestly, outside of Austrian atmospheric black metallers Summoning, nothing immediately comes to mind, making Darklore a cool edge case in the genre. The album has an epic cinematic feel that is omnipresent, bringing the storytelling to life in a way only music can. I feel the music suits the subject matter and is extremely well executed.

A thunderstorm is raging, wolves howling, as “The Hunting Grounds” begins, soaking you in atmosphere, before mid-paced black metal riffs tinged with eerie keys pummel your ears, sinister vocals serenading you. The song has a blackened doomy vibe, crushing riffs and drums relentless in their pounding, integrating light keyboard and guitar melodies throughout. Two thirds of the way provides a Behemoth or A Hill To Die Upon like break, before settling into a bass-driven melodic passage enabling somber melodic guitar leads amidst a pack of wolves. This slowly builds, layering in orchestration (check out those strings!) with demented cries of “the hunting grounds!”, before fading out with the wolves still howling. 

“Descendants of the Pale Moon” starts with an eerie piano melody bouncing around, then drowns you in a wave of atmospheric black metal. The synths play a critical role in both the ambiance and melody, while the guitars and drums alternate between more straightforward crushing riffing and thunderous staccato rhythms that punch through the mist. The blackened vocals are aggressive but intelligible, adding additional heft to the keyboard-driven melodies. The final three minutes features a harmonized guitar and bass-driven melody that sets up an almost proggy vibe underlying the blackened attack, keyboards dueling against the drums and guitars in an off balance manner while the vocals snarl overhead.

“The Beast of Beauclair” has a baroque piano intro that hands off to a driving epic sounding guitar melody, atmosphere and drums slowly building around as the song progresses. The first true blastbeats fury of the album pulverizes you just before the two minutes mark, proceeding to meander across varying landscapes that alternate between mid-paced, galloping, and blasting, airy brutality permeating every facet of the soundscape. You think the song is ending around 5:15, only to transition into an ethereal ambient section, the sounds of nature enveloping as synths swirl over a bass and keyboard driven melody. After landing at what feels like the song’s second conclusion, the bass and drums power forward, hefty riffs creating a wall of sound with an aggressive vocal delivery. A late guitar solo adds a majestic feel to the anthemic growls, before ending with a big finish. 

“Servants of Sauron” greets you with a grisly scream, haunting keyboards taking command over a thunderous drum attack. Blackened riffing ensues, navigating crushing riffs, off balancing guitar melodies, alternating thunderous and punchy drums, and that permeating eerie piano line that imbues with unease. The vocals balance death growls and blackened shrieks, with the chorus proclaiming “Sauron they serve!” diving deep into the Tolkien lore. The middle starts a longer mostly instrumental section, with occasional sinister vocals emerging from the shadows. Dark melodies collide with evocative keyboards and tremolo picked lines, building to an atmospheric blasting assault of dissonant chaos, tortured vocals punching your gut, music ablaze before a solemn finish.

“The North Remembers” has an epic feel as it begins, cinematic synths and orchestration dominating the guitar melodies underneath, a blackened doomy feel with soaring symphonics creating an ethereal aura. Around halfway Darklore unleashes the fury, blastbeat-ridden riffing alternating with triumphant melodies, giving off an epic battle feel that will make you want to draw your sword and remember those who died on the battlefield. The last couple minutes are fabulous, with a big chorus and massive cinematic atmosphere, intelligible gnarly blackened growls acting distinguished in their surprising melodic delivery that just might make you join in.

“Horns of the Buffira” blends melodic synths with a driving mid-paced rhythm, taking on a calmer demeanor as the song progresses through the verse. The chorus utilizes some really cool vocal layering, giving a folksy choral feel backing the melodic growls, a staccato rhythm providing a solid foundation. A little past halfway the intensity builds, with more powerful riffs and urgency in the drumming, vocals amping up the aggression. To this point the song has been relatively straightforward in its construction, but just after five minutes pivots to an extended instrumental section melding various rhythms and polyphonic guitar/keyboard melodies, before closing with a brief reprise of the chorus and ending in symphonic dissonance. 

The epic title track is the longest at over 10 minutes and begins with a somber harmonized guitar melody before going to war in a blaze of blastbeats, searing guitar riffs, and soaring synths. The chorus slows down the armada, cinematic in its majestic delivery, as the synths continue to drive the melody. The song has a very narrative forward feel, utilizing the variance in tempos and melodies to help move the story along. Throughout are nicely placed transitions that feel like a turning of the page to the next chapter, featuring different guitar or keyboard melodies. The song begins a build in the final third, spending the eighth minute delivering a guitar solo that starts restrained but eventually explodes in fury. As it ends, triumphant cries of “We will return!” aggressively ring out as the guitars and drums increase their intensity, drums blasting ahead while guitar leads ignite, a glorious finale to an epic track.

Closer “Wrath of the High Heavens” is barely shorter than the title track, ending the album with another 10 minute opus. The opening is cinematic and folksy, a chamber choir leading the way to what sounds like a dulcimer, then a simple folk tinged guitar melody. 75 seconds and the distortion kicks in, Ensiferum vibes serenading you before the furious blackened assault knocks you over. The song maintains the folksy feel throughout, both in feature and in support. The tempo rarely tempers, percussive pummeling pulverizing your auditory passages, while the polyphonic folk melodies challenge at their own slower pace, adding texture to the brutality. The melodies and overarching cinematic qualities act as a perfect complement to the blackened heft, ending a great album perfectly. 

If I had one critique, there are a handful of times when the blackened doomy melodies feel slightly long running. However, this mirrors much of the material the band finds inspiration, and it does not impact my listening pleasure. The album is a bit of a marathon across the 8 tracks, which I find makes it both good background and foreground listening, with a different result depending on my focus. If you love fantasy, atmospheric black metal, or epic metal in general, you should definitely check this one out!