Here come Phoebus the Knight with their newest EP. We had the pleasure of reviewing their last full length album “Ferrum Fero Ferro Feror” which showed a band with lots of personality with a very particular view of Power Metal. I dare to say the band that influenced them the most was Rhapsody – now Rhapsody of Fire – due to the hodgepodge of medieval music, tales, and visuals. Add to that a prone to the theatrical and operatic verves of music. That’s what my dear child of the night will get with the grand finale “The Tears of Rowena” which is a Metal opera version of the previous song which, by the way, has the same tittle – of course. Indeed, this is kind of redundance as the regular “The Tears of Rowena” is already pretty operatic. This EP “The Cursed Lord” is part of a new serie of EPs underlined with the mention “Chronicles.” Those EPs will tell side stories of the Phoebusverse that will deepen the lore and the understanding of the main narrative arc told in the albums. It tells the story of the fight between our heroes, Phoebus and the knights of Heliopolis, against the lord Gilles de Rais who has gone mad and is doing terrible things to his land and his people. An air of black magic is floating onto the land of Rais and the knights are coming to put an end t o the horrors unfurling there.
Phoebus the Knight is the alter ego of Axel de Montalembert, a passionate of music, heroic fantasy, esoterism and history, he created the story of Phoebus and his companions, the Knights of Heliopolis, melting together heroic fantasy and history.
To translate his great tale into music, he needed a c omposer that could write for a metal band and a full orchestra to give to the story the epic breath it needed. He then met Adrien Djouadou and together, they created the whole concept of Phoebus the Knight.
Axel would write the lyrics and naturally, sing them and Adrien would compose the whole music, play the guitar and do the backing vocals. But Phoebus the Knight needed musicians, so they found a great team to pla y with them on this journey : Noémie Allet on the bass and vocals, Adrien Guingal on the guitar and Guillaume Remih on the drums. Each member of the band would represent a character in the story of Phoebus and his companions.
This five tracked EP has a bigger verve to the operatic than the previous album we reviewed here. It’s fair to say that it’s the missing link of Rhapsody and Helloween, if my dear child of the night gets what I mean. The impression it gets is that the songs were first conceived to be short operas and then put a Metal music wrapping. The symphonic elements are too strong in the album not only on vocals as Arkeuid – the alter of bassist Noémie Allet – voice in the grand finale tells it so. This strong symphonic element gives a dark and dense atmosphere to the album. A highight to the intricate intro of opener and tittle track “The Cursed Lord,” the track which I guess showcases better the spirit of the band.
Phoebus the Knight “The Cursed Lord” will be released on June 21st.
Track Listing:
- The Cursed Lord
- The Black Dungeon
- Surrounded by Darkness
- The Tears of Rowena
- The Tears of Rowena (Metal Opera Version) 06
Watch official music video here:
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