Furor Lunae

Man, Obsequiae has kind of ruined this niche of medieval-worshipping melodic black metal for me. About a minute into giving Flamen a shot, I found myself thinking when are the insane harmonized guitars going to come soaring in? Winding harmonized tremolo that blurs the line between leads and riffs do promptly arrive, and while good, they just don’t scratch that itch. Hell, Obsequiae just dropped an album that sounds almost identical to their breakout sophomore effort and it still ended up being one of my favourite albums of the year because no one fucking sounds close to them and holy shit did I mention those harmonized leads? I know it’s not really fair to Flamen, but especially since they dropped at around the same time the comparison is just inescapable to me. Obsequiae raving aside, Furor Lunae does incredibly well for a one-man black metal debut and they are anything but generic.

I’ll start with Flamen’s strengths – this dude has an incredible ear for melody. Harmonized guitar is a must for this melodic/medieval strain of black metal and a lot of Flamen’s most melodic riffs are harmonized. It’s really fucking cool – it’s not Obsequiae cool – but I have a hard time denying that they’re incredibly infectious. There’s also a lot of soaring tremolo, which gives Lunae an uplifting and triumphant vibe. It almost sounds designed as the soundtrack for a Medieval king triumphantly returning from a conquest. The keys are cool, especially the ones designed to imbue the album with an extra dose of medieval flavour. I know they’re MIDI and not the real thing they’re emulating, but I can cut Flamen some slack – it’s a one-man band after all and it totally fits the vibe of the album. I’m pretty sure these parts are meant to mimic a harpsichord (I’m super bad with identifying these sort of instruments), and they do wonders for bolstering the vibe Flamen are so keen on soaking their music in.

A major draw for me is the balancing act that Flamen pulls off. Sure, you’ve got lots of super melodic guitar lines and MIDI harpsichord bouncing around, but it never feels like a massive cheese-fest like virtually all of the europower bands that just eat up that medieval shit. For all the soaring, triumphant tremolo and catchy melodies, there’s a really cold core to Flamen. A lot of this actually sounds like if a black metal band typical of the Quebecois scene got really into Obsequiae. There are lots of stoic frozen waves of tremolo that help build the atmosphere. When he’s not indulging in harpsichord fun, we get a lot of really icy ambient keyboard tones. They hang behind the riff, providing a cold contrast to the warm melodies. The tones and the way they interplay with riffs actually remind me a lot of Neige et Noirceur.

As for the production, it’s really strong for the first major volley of a one-man black metal band, but there are still points where you can really tell it’s a laptop production. The guitar tone is nice and strong, and both the biting rasps and deep chants are perched nicely in the middle of the mix. However, the programmed drums are way back in the mix and are robbed of the impact they could have had. As for the actual programming, it’s fine. It’s the weakest link, but it’s competent and serviceable.

Furor Lunae is incredibly solid for Flamen’s first major campaign. Minor gripes about the programmed drums and comparisons to one of the best modern metal bands aside, Flamen have not only succeeded in unleashing a quality slab of black metal, but they have also done a great deal to carve out a unique identity for themselves. I could see this project really going places in the future – if a real drummer is brought on board and some really killer melodic leads laid down, their sophomore could prove to be a real breakout moment. This isn’t going to end up being my black metal album of the year or anything, but it was a really neat discovery.