During the days of the Second Wave of Black Metal in the 90s, the genre started to become fractured with the surge of new subgenres. One of them was Pagan Black Metal, that was the way of playing the genre, but using pagan themes on the lyrics to evade the satanist image and folklore around it. And even after 30 years, there are young acts using such old formulas, as the Swedish duo ALDAARON, as heard on “Par-delà les cimes”.

Voldr and Ioldar (the band’s members) took the responsibility of the production in their hands (with Ioldar making the recordings, mixing, mastering and artwork as well), choosing an Old School Black Metal model, with lo-fi aspects being used on the instrumental tunes. But even with a harsh appeal, everything can be heard and understood without problems. As guests, here are Rich Gray playing the bass, and Oleg Bezuglov playing violins and Eric Castiglia on the vocals (both on “Under the Icy Sky, Memories Fade Away”).

Musically, as written above, the duo uses an Old School Pagan Black Metal appeal for their music, with things having that abrasive and melancholic feeling tempered with eerie melodies and a sinister appeal, but of course there are moments of aggressive outfit (as heard on “Frozen Shadows of the Exalted Sun”). Such combination of elements isn’t new, but the band uses such formula in a very good way, indeed.

The band uses long timespams to express its ideas, but to hear and experience “Antediluvian Prophecies”, “Frozen Shadows of the Exalted Sun”, “Chants d’hiver et de solitude” and “Under the Icy Sky, Memories Fade Away” is like to having a travel to the ancient past, when the value of a person was measured by who she/he was (and not by the money). The transitions between harsh and introspective parts can sound subtle, but for the fans of the genres, things are very good.

After listening to “Par-delà les cimes”, fans of Pagan Black Metal will have the idea that a very good new name in the genre is rising. And ALDAARON is really promising.