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Album Review – Naraka / Born In Darkness (2025)

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One of the most promising modern acts emerging from France returns with their hellish, incendiary sophomore offering.

Founded in 2019 by guitarist Jean-Philippe Porteux, French Melodic Death Metal outfit Naraka (a term that generally refers to the realm of hell or a place of torment in Indian religions) is back with their mix of Modern Metal and Death Metal with symphonic and sometimes even electro touches in their sophomore album, titled Born in Darkness. Recorded at Hybreed Studio, Serial Drummer Studio, and At The Gates Ov Hell Studio, mixed and mastered at Darth Vader Studio, produced by Logan Mader, and adorned by a devilish artwork by Andreas Bathory, the follow-up to their 2021 debut In Tenebris continues to pave the path started by the band in their inception, creating a dramatic and atmospheric experience without losing focus on their core instrumentation and, therefore, positioning the band currently formed of vocalist Théodore Rondeau, guitarist Jean-Philippe Porteux, bassist Pierre-André Krauzer, and drummer Franky Costanza as one of the most promising modern acts emerging from France’s always exciting metal scene.

The album kicks off with the cinematic intro Apocalypsis Diem, where the band invites us all to their dark and sinister world before all hell breaks loose in Born In Darkness, offering our avid ears a solid and thrilling fusion of Black, Death and Groove Metal led by the Lamb of God and Machine Head-inspired screams by Théodore. Franky then pounds his drums in great fashion in the heavy-as-hell Something Woke Up, supported by the slashing riffs by Jean-Philippe and all of the song’s wicked background sounds, whereas Jean-Philippe revs up the band’s Blackened Death Metal engine in Blazing Sun, also showing elements from Gothic Rock and Metal. With a title like Hellhound the only thing we could expect was pure doom, and we get it straight from Pierre-André’s bass and the song’s haunting background choir, followed by Tyrants, another hard hitting tune of melodeath with groove and blackened nuances, with Franky taking the lead with his fierce beats.

Then leaning towards Symphonic Black and Death Metal those French metallers fire an adrenaline-fueled beast named Sorcerer, where the harsh vocals by Théodore walk hand in hand with all keys and orchestrations; and like the soundtrack to a horror movie, the climatic interlude Deus Belli sees the band arise from the netherworld in Lost, again venturing through the realms of Gothic Metal, in special in the song’s dark, deep vocals and sluggish beats. The Reign In Red is one more devilish creation by Naraka, evolving into a Symphonic Black Metal aria spearheaded by Franky’s crushing drums, also featuring Sotiris Anunnaki V of SepticFlesh on guest vocals. Parasite is a modern and visceral display of Dark Metal that goes straight into your mind, with Jean-Philippe’s riffs crawling under your skin like a creepy centipede, followed by The Last Day On Earth, a phantasmagorical composition where all background keys add an extra dosage of heaviness to the already vile riffage by Jean-Philippe. Lastly, we face an acoustic version of Lost, not as good as the electrified version, and a bit unnecessary as the album is already grandiose without it.

Although the name Naraka has only been around for less than a decade, the band members are seasoned veterans of the French scene, bringing a powerful and sophisticated sound to the table in their new album Born In Darkness, which is by the way available from the Art Gates Records webstore as a digipak + shirt bundle, a digipak + shirt + hoodie bundle, or a digipak + shirt + hoodie + mug bundle. Don’t forget to also follow such a promising band on Facebook and on Instagram, as I’m sure their live performances are incendiary to say the least, and stream their music on any platform out there like Spotify. If you’re looking for modernity in heavy music while also deeply rooted in classic extreme sounds, Naraka will certainly fulfill your needs with Born In Darkness, keeping the fires of French music burning bright and inspiring those talented musicians to keep melting our faces with album number three in a not-so-distant future.

Best moments of the album: Something Woke Up, Hellhound and Parasite.

Worst moments of the album: Lost (Acoustic Version).

Released in 2025 Art Gates Records

Track listing
1. Apocalypsis Diem 1:41
2. Born In Darkness 5:29
3. Something Woke Up 4:38
4. Blazing Sun 5:08
5. Hellhound 3:57
6. Tyrants 4:12
7. Sorcerer 4:01
8. Deus Belli 3:32
9. Lost 4:25
10. The Reign In Red 5:18
11. Parasite 3:31
12. The Last Day On Earth 5:51
13. Lost (Acoustic Version) 3:55

Band members
Théodore Rondeau – vocals
Jean-Philippe Porteux – guitar
Pierre-André Krauzer – bass
Franky Costanza – drums

Guest musician
Sotiris Anunnaki V – vocals on “The Reign In Red”

Album Review – Corpus Diavolis / Atra Lumen (2017)

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Open your mind and follow the black light formed of ritualistic Black, Death and Doom Metal by this extremely talented horde hailing from France.

Musically conceiving a ritualistic feeling into the vibes of Black Metal, the unstoppable French horde known as Corpus Diavolis has never been tempted to lose themselves on their own musical maelstrom since their inception in 2008 in the city of Marseille, located in the always beautiful Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. After the release of their debut EP Nightsky Orgia in 2009 and their highly acclaimed full-length albums Revolucia in 2010 and Entheogenesis in 2013, the band led by multi-instrumentalist Daemonicreator brings forth now in 2017 Atra Lumen, a monumental opus tailored for fans of the darkest side of music.

Atra Lumen, which means “black light” in Latin, blends the band’s unrelenting Black, Death and Doom Metal with concepts such as Shamanism, ceremonial magic, tarot, the esoteric journey of English occultist Aleister Crowley and the philosophical transcendence of Chilean-French artist and spiritual guru Alejandro Jodorowsky, penetrating your skin, your mind and your heart and, consequently, enfolding you in a dark and mystical aura from start to finish. Each one of its eight tracks is unique, obscure and ominous, showcasing not only the talent of each member of Corpus Diavolis, but also how vicious and mesmerizing their creations feel when every distinct sound is thoroughly put together.

We’re invited to enter the gates of the underworld to the sound of the opening track, named Revelations Before Dawn, where doomed beats and a menacing ambience warm up the listener before Daemonicreator begins vociferating like a demon, with guitarists Analyser and Lord Khaos, together with bassist Funeral, delivering pure old school Black Metal through their instruments. The low-tuned riffs by Analyser and Lord Khaos and the rhythmic blast beats by drummer IX generate a hellish atmosphere in the Black Metal feast The Ardent Jewel of His Presence, once again showcasing all the potency and malignancy of the music by Corpus Diavolis; followed by L’Oeil Unique, or “the one eye” from French, uniting the most obscure forms of Black and Doom Metal (feeling almost like Blackened Doom), with highlights to the precise drumming by IX and to the Stygian way Daemonicreator declaims the song’s lyrics.

Signs Of End Times displays a truly devilish start to another powerful, full-bodied creation by Corpus Diavolis, before all hell breaks loose and Daemonicreator begins growling his blasphemous words potently, not mention the amazing job done by the duo of darkness Analyser and Lord Khaos with their demonic guitars. The next track, nicely entitled Wine of The Beast, brings forward more Doom Metal beats and somber passages by Daemonicreator and his followers, sounding slow-paced and diabolical at times, and faster and full of hatred at others. Furthermore, as a fan of extreme music, do you think you have the guts to drink the wine of the beast? Before you can even answer that, bells tolling ignite another evil aria of Black Metal titled Flesh to Flesh, again offering the most obscure elements of Doom Metal added to their already darkened music, with Analyser and Lord Khaos leading the sonority with their cutting old school riffage.

With sheer irreligiousness emanating from its riffs and blast beats, Thy Glorification is a violent, straightforward tune that leans towards Norwegian Black Metal where we can enjoy another nefarious performance by Daemonicreator on vocals, while the instrumental pieces get heavier, more impactful and more aggressive as the music progresses. And last but not least, Sick Waters, which presents a horror-inspired cinematic intro, is a very atmospheric chant focusing on the devilish gnarls by Daemonicreator and the steady but potent beats by IX. Moreover, the song’s beautiful fusion of the aggressiveness of Black Metal with the mournful aspects of Doom Metal closes the album in a blackened way, leaving us all eager for more of the extreme spawns by Corpus Diavolis.

Not only you can follow this awesome horde of esotericism and wickedness through their Facebook page and purchase your copy of Atra Lumen at several locations, such as the band’s own webshop or BandCamp, the ATMF’s webshop or BandCamp, the Season of Mist’s webshop, Amazon or Discogs (and pay attention as the physical copy of the album is limited to 400 copies only in digipak format with an extensive booklet), but Corpus Diavolis are also going to be one of the attractions at the first ATMF Festival, which will take place at the Eresia Metalfest on July 2 this year in Resia, located in the province of Udine, in Italy. In a nutshell, all you have to do to relish the extreme music by Corpus Diavolis is open your mind and your heart, surrender to their ritualistic sounds, and follow their black light formed of Black, Death and Doom Metal, as simple as that.

Best moments of the album: The Ardent Jewel of His Presence, Signs Of End Times and Thy Glorification.

Worst moments of the album: Flesh to Flesh.

Released in 2017 Aeternitas Tenebrarum Musicae Fundamentum

Track listing
1. Revelations Before Dawn 6:22
2. The Ardent Jewel of His Presence 5:52
3. L’Oeil Unique 5:54
4. Signs Of End Times 4:12
5. Wine of The Beast 6:27
6. Flesh to Flesh 4:52
7. Thy Glorification 3:37
8. Sick Waters 6:46

Band members
Daemonicreator – vocals, synths, theremine
Analyser – lead guitars
Lord Khaos – guitars
Funeral – bass
IX – drums