Black metal and opera isn’t the most-typical concept for a genre fusion, but recent acts like Folterkammer showed that the style can be done gracefully and without compromising either influence’s core traits. In a similar, but stylistically different, vein is Livre Troisième, the new album from French solo act Les Chants du Hasard.
Combining neoclassical instrumentation and operatic vocal performances with blackened screams, songs like “Chant III: Le Reflet”—which premieres today via Decibel—channel a mood that feels simultaneously elegant, epic and evil. There is a cinematic quality to the instrumentation, lending the song a grandiose feeling.
“Despite its simple structure, this song is the one I spent the most time working on,” explains project creator and lone member Hazard. “The goal was to have a contrast as big as possible between the parts with metal voices and those with the soprano and choirs, resulting in maybe the most intense song of this album.”
Listen to “Chant III: Le Reflet” below. Livre Troisième is due out April 9 as an independent release.
