L'envol

First off, apologies for the rather basic title. But really, what else can I say besides that? Dunkel's music might not be the most groundbreaking thing in the world, but he is clearly a talented musician, and when his music's good, it's really good, and possibly one of the strongest case in this is with another one of his projects called Drakonhail, and more specifically in the 2017 demo "L'envol".

Let's start with the instrumentals. This demo does include some typical raw black metal elements, but this demo does something different here. This is apparent in the second track "Eternité", which takes on a dark ambient sound. The soft guitar in the intro plays a calming, yet dark sounding riff, and this riff goes on for a bit. As the track goes on, we hear some chants in the background, shrieks, and even an electric guitar playing a doomy riff. This track, along with "Perdue dans la brume", are extremely long and unconventional in its structure and composition. However, we do get some typical black metal fanfare in the middle of it all, like in the tracks "La forêt d'un autre lieu" and the second half of "Accès au néant". These tracks have some extremely raw production, and the guitar riffs sound too noisy to distinguish any riffs. However, like the dark ambient/experimental stuff, it's very dark, cold, and depressing, which works really well. Even the cover for Nargaroth's "Into the Void" is good, as it still captures the raw and dark atmosphere of the original while also adding its own elements in it. Whether it be the orthodox black metal riffs or the experimental and acoustic tracks, this demo is great at all of these.

But then we get to the vocals, and they're actually really good. Unlike the last demo of Dunkel I reviewed, this album does go with some high-pitched shrieks, but this time, actually sound meaningful. For example, in the track "Musique de nuit", the more sorrowful and depressive atmosphere of the track mixes well with the vocals, as the shrieks of Dunkel sound agonizing and feral, which flows well to the atmospheric riffs. They're also just as fitting in the more experimental tracks like "Perdue dans la brume", where the shrieks go hand-to-hand with the more unconventional structure. Here, Dunkel does put in more effort in the vocal delivery, and it pays off with him providing even more chilling moments in the tracks.

When you get down to it, this demo is easily one of the best Dunkel has made so far. The mix of black metal and experimental/ambient stuff is done fantastically, and the shrieks are chilling and powerful in the most abrasive and creepy way possible. Most of the demos in Drakonhail are really good, but "L'envol" remains my favorite from the band and is something I highly recommend.