Dark Sanctuary - De Lumière Et D'obscurité / Les Mémoires Blessées / Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I)
By Russell Garwood
De Lumière Et D'obscurité
Peaceville Records CDVILED196 2007
Dark Sanctuary hail from France, and have a low profile in the metal scene. This is due in no small part to the fact that they play atmospheric neoclassical. Their 2000 album De Lumière Et D'obscurité showcases this very well indeed, providing thirteen tracks of minimalistic ambience. The relaxed atmospheres are built through slowly developing songs, comprising ethereal female vocals (courtesy of Marquise Ermia, who left the band shortly after this release), violin, keys, and other orchestrations, while bass, guitar and percussion also make occasional appearances. Strong composition and a range of influences from Classical and Baroque to modern acts such as Dead Can Dance (the last track is a cover of Summoning Of The Muse) keep everything interesting, but to me the most enjoyable aspect of this release is the tranquil atmosphere. It is worth mentioning as a negative, however, that someone seems to have totally checked out when it comes to the artwork, with the digipak inlays being just duplications of the last two booklet pages.
Les Mémoires Blessées
Peaceville Records CDVILED222 2008
Fast forward to 2004, and this Gallic sextets fourth full-length. Les Mémoires Blessées is similar to De Lumière Et D'obscurité in terms of atmosphere, but there are some developments in both the music and recording. Sparser instrumentation, along with the increasingly polished female singing rings of more contemporary ethereal dark wave, while improved production values are clear in all instruments; the strings are richer in tone, and the music has more depth. The more limited range of instrumentation brings piano, acoustic guitars and strings to the forefront, while there is little use of organs and other bombastic instrumentation used in louder moments of the above work. The slowly building crescendos tend to culminate instead with strings, vocals and the addition of drums, but remain very effective. Male voices are a welcome addition, and the entire album has a more downcast feel to it. Another new change is the occasional use of marching snares, introducing a martial feel to some of the songs.
At thirteen tracks with an average length of six minutes for each. Les Mémoires Blessées is certainly a length work, but one will be welcomed by fans of the genre. A definite step forward from De Lumière Et D'obscurité.
Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I)
Peaceville Records CDVILED219 2008
2005 saw the release of Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I) (Hear My Cry in Latin, for those who are wondering), the first in a duo of records which sees Dark Sanctuary continue in the ethereal / gothic neo-classical vein of previous works. It sees a return to more layered and denser compositions, with brass, prominent guitars, intense drumming and numerous vocal lines used to great effect in more abrasive moments. The use of male recitation along with bass singing shows the group are still adding new elements to the sound, further demonstrated by the increased use of percussion, including tubular bells. While still atmospheric the album comes across as generally more upbeat than the bands previous works, with more structured songs some, for example The Garden Of Jane Delawney even approach a traditional verse-chorus structure. This helps prevent the songs for blurring into a single composition, and along with bombastic organ driven instrumentals and dramatic interludes - provides welcome variation. Because of this Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I) is perhaps the best Dark Sanctuary release to sample for those who are new to the genre; it is the most accessible release from this trilogy of reissues.
Official Dark Sanctuary website
Official Peaceville website
By Russell Garwood
De Lumière Et D'obscurité
Peaceville Records CDVILED196 2007
Dark Sanctuary hail from France, and have a low profile in the metal scene. This is due in no small part to the fact that they play atmospheric neoclassical. Their 2000 album De Lumière Et D'obscurité showcases this very well indeed, providing thirteen tracks of minimalistic ambience. The relaxed atmospheres are built through slowly developing songs, comprising ethereal female vocals (courtesy of Marquise Ermia, who left the band shortly after this release), violin, keys, and other orchestrations, while bass, guitar and percussion also make occasional appearances. Strong composition and a range of influences from Classical and Baroque to modern acts such as Dead Can Dance (the last track is a cover of Summoning Of The Muse) keep everything interesting, but to me the most enjoyable aspect of this release is the tranquil atmosphere. It is worth mentioning as a negative, however, that someone seems to have totally checked out when it comes to the artwork, with the digipak inlays being just duplications of the last two booklet pages.
Les Mémoires Blessées
Peaceville Records CDVILED222 2008
Fast forward to 2004, and this Gallic sextets fourth full-length. Les Mémoires Blessées is similar to De Lumière Et D'obscurité in terms of atmosphere, but there are some developments in both the music and recording. Sparser instrumentation, along with the increasingly polished female singing rings of more contemporary ethereal dark wave, while improved production values are clear in all instruments; the strings are richer in tone, and the music has more depth. The more limited range of instrumentation brings piano, acoustic guitars and strings to the forefront, while there is little use of organs and other bombastic instrumentation used in louder moments of the above work. The slowly building crescendos tend to culminate instead with strings, vocals and the addition of drums, but remain very effective. Male voices are a welcome addition, and the entire album has a more downcast feel to it. Another new change is the occasional use of marching snares, introducing a martial feel to some of the songs.
At thirteen tracks with an average length of six minutes for each. Les Mémoires Blessées is certainly a length work, but one will be welcomed by fans of the genre. A definite step forward from De Lumière Et D'obscurité.
Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I)
Peaceville Records CDVILED219 2008
2005 saw the release of Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I) (Hear My Cry in Latin, for those who are wondering), the first in a duo of records which sees Dark Sanctuary continue in the ethereal / gothic neo-classical vein of previous works. It sees a return to more layered and denser compositions, with brass, prominent guitars, intense drumming and numerous vocal lines used to great effect in more abrasive moments. The use of male recitation along with bass singing shows the group are still adding new elements to the sound, further demonstrated by the increased use of percussion, including tubular bells. While still atmospheric the album comes across as generally more upbeat than the bands previous works, with more structured songs some, for example The Garden Of Jane Delawney even approach a traditional verse-chorus structure. This helps prevent the songs for blurring into a single composition, and along with bombastic organ driven instrumentals and dramatic interludes - provides welcome variation. Because of this Exaudi Vocem Meam (Part I) is perhaps the best Dark Sanctuary release to sample for those who are new to the genre; it is the most accessible release from this trilogy of reissues.
Official Dark Sanctuary website
Official Peaceville website
