Year: 2023
Total Time: 65.29
Label: Avantgarde Music

DARK SANCTUARY was formed in 1996 in Paris, France and consists of Dame Pandora – vocals, Arkdae – keyboards/guitars, Hylgaryss – keyboards/guitars, Sombre Cÿr – bass/percussion and Alexis on drums. “Cernunnos’”is the band’s eighth full length album to date and follows the EP ‘”Iterum” which was released in November 2021. They play Neo/Folk/Avant Garde with some Gothic elements and have nothing to do with Metal music, neither with Industrial or Dark Electro. They are simply considered to belong to the “Dark” scene.

The album’s title is a reference to the ancient Gaulish god who “embodied the biological cycle of nature, simultaneously reflecting life and death, vegetation and decay, like the stag, the animal that represents him, which loses its antlers in winter to recover them in spring” and the album artwork shows us this. It contains eleven songs – most of them long in duration – all moving in the same style so I can’t single out any of them except maybe “Gloria Eterna” which is a bit darker and is an instrumental one.

In summary, I will say that this album does not belong in the Metal music scene. Nevertheless, those who like bands like WARDRUNA or those who like Liv Kristine’s voice might find some interest here. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the aforementioned names, so it’s not fair to rate this album. Just listen to this album and judge by yourself…..

Rating: Ν/Α
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: DARK SANCTUARY – Facebook page