Angellore - Nocturnes (2026)

Oozing that melancholy of 90’s Gothic Death/Doom Metal, today we have France’s Angellore and their latest opus ‘Nocturnes”. With a very adorned and lush sound, this band masterfully unleashes five tracks and nearly 56 minutes of majestic music. Taking their name from a song from Tristania’s “Widow's Weeds” album (one of our favorites), we got instantly attracted to spend a good deal of time exploring and enjoying this epic release.

Opening with the lush “Failing Birds”, the band wastes no time to show their polish, with a very delicate progression into a very well crafted male and female vocal dynamic. Changing things around, “Black Sun River” starts with a Gothic Metal edge thanks to the deep clean male vocals and dramatic atmospherics, which suddenly transition into even dreamier territories with Lucia’s angelic vocals and some crafty, and very Tristania-esque piano elements.

The flutes on “Forsaken Fairytale” graciously reminded us of Ashes You Leave back in their 2000’s albums. This made us start to recognize that there are plenty of elements from bands like Tristania, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Theatre of Tragedy, Ashes You Leave, Sirenia, etc. but they are all perfectly incorporated into the band’s own sound, allowing their songs to be quite expansive and familiar, but yet, very unique to Angellore, as we can hear from “Martyrium” and “A Dormant Stream”.

Closing with one of the bleakest and most awesome songs in the genre in 2026, Angellore left us reeling by the sheer amount of details and melancholy that their music showcases. “Nocturnes” is a very well composed and arranged release that takes this ‘old genre’ into modern times with such polish and finesse. If you are a fan of any of the previously mentioned bands, or just like very atmospheric and lush music, this is an album you cannot miss out on.

Rating: 97/100