Search - Dark Sanctuary :: De lumiere et d'obscurite

The light and the obscure

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 11/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dark Sanctuary is still outstanding in their second album, "De Lumiere Er L'Obscure." Neo-classical with a dash of goth, the French band pulls off a magnificent display of bittersweet night music, full of weeping violins, operatic vocals, and ghostly atmosphere.



It opens with "Preludia," a soft instrumental with a vaguely medieval sound, played on piano and slow strings. It does a good job getting you into the mood for the haunting, ghostly quality of "De Lumiere Et D'Obscurite," an epic organ song that starts soaring with the angelic vocals.



It continues with similar songs, full of neoclassical instrumentation and exquisitely bittersweet atmosphere. Dark Sanctuary quietly sweeps over the listeners with haunting violin ballads, expansive gothic throatbusters, piano interludes, the occasional rat-a-tatting march, and the slightly discordant "La Chute De L'Ange."



Dark Sanctuary's music is gothic in the sense that it's like wandering through a ruined cathedral. Their music brims over with ghosts, European flavour, and a sense of overwhelming sadness -- which makes it perfect for the Victorian-lace-and-graveyards brand of gothic music.



There isn't a drop of rock or metal in this music. Instead, they stick resolutely to the neoclassical sound, with exquisite sweeps of weepy orchestral strings, framed with slow piano and a soaring organ, and occasionally some tight drums. As if that weren't atmospheric enough, we have some samples of church bells and falling rain.



Marquise Ermia -- who left the band after this album -- has an absolutely exquisite voice. As well as being clear and sweet, it's also flexible -- she can make it soar like an angel's or swoon like a Victorian lover's. Though the songs she sings are in French, it won't really matter to non-French-speaking listeners -- her songs are about really miserable angels, in love and sometimes banished.



Dark Sanctuary turned out another beautiful piece of work in "De Lumiere Er L'obscure." The ideal music for those who like their goth music neoclassical and full of anguish."