German epic doom sextet Lord Vigo turn to dystopian futurescapes on their new record Danse de Noir. A concept album pulling from the Blade Runner cinematic universe, Danse de Noir‘s lush synths don’t distract from Lord Vigo’s traditional Cirith Ungol foundation. Fans of Ghostbusters II may recognize the band’s name as the Carpathian villain who emerges from a possessed painting. Like that character, Lord Vigo bring new life to a stagnant medium by uniquely reshaping the genre.
From the album’s eerie opening monologue, cyberpunk flourishes converge with classic doom and epic metal. “Verge of Time” incorporates the infectious choruses of NWOBHM’s pace-changing ballads. Synth interludes calibrate the listener between songs to remain on the album’s singular wavelength. “Shoulder of Orion” sounds like a triumphant ode to those who lost their lives in burning attack ships. If I were to concentrate the essence of 1982 heavy metal into the future it would result in the eccentric majesty of “And Then the Planets Will Align.” But in the same parallel world I just imagined, the hard edges and gothic reverb of “Between Despair and Ecstacy” would dominate the charts. Lord Vigo aren’t content to just freshly polish their influences and be another replicant; Danse de Noir is both a retrospective and a reimagining. With vocalist Clortho Vinz’s shivering voice as our guide, we headbang through the foggy hover-highways of a dystopian metropolis. Lord Vigo’s audience should be wearing black space suits with Candlemass backpatches.
Stream Lord Vigo’s Danse de Noir below before it’s lost in time (like tears in the rain). It’s here at Decibel exclusively until the album’s release from High Roller Records on April 10th.
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