Riverflame – Lunar Crusades
Release Date: 24th April 2026
Label: Code 666
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Epic Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Medieval Black Metal.
FFO: Stormkeep, Amon Amarth, Hammerfall.
Review By: Ross Bowie
Riverflame, featuring members of bands such as Hail Spirit Noir, Ponte Del Diavolo and OWLS, have spent the two years since their 2024 formation, writing and crafting for their debut album as the band seek to meld the worlds of black metal with medieval bombast and throw in some neoclassical touches for good measure.
This debut album wastes no time in setting its stall out early. As soon as your finger leaves the play button, you’re immediately greeted with a harpsichord intro and a voice-over straight out of Larian Studios’ next project. The band slightly tease their cinematic capabilities before stripping everything right back and letting the black metal lead guitar work take centre stage with dissonant chords and simple yet effective lead lines. Vocalist Romain Nobileau starts off in the shadows with a whispered vocal, stalking and running his fingers on your back before bursting into his full punishing screams. The opening self-titled track really sets the stage, like a story is about to unfold, and the banners are being readied for war. When the song hits the halfway mark, it delivers a change of pace that is so effective, it’s almost a warning shot to let you know that this band are capable of taking turns out of left field at any moment as the track slinks back into the shadows at its conclusion.
The four piece don’t take long on their medieval black metal album to have a song about dragons, as the second track, Where Dragons Once Ruled checks that off the ye olde time bingo card. This song wastes no time in getting started, dissonant riffs play with galloping drums, it’s fast but manages to keep the melody front and centre with the guitar sounding just effortlessly cool. There’s a beautiful plucked acoustic passage that doesn’t derail the song’s pace but instead feels like you’re catching your breath before the next onslaught. Accompanied by such a dramatic narration, this could easily sound cheesy in the hands of less skilled musicians, but Riverflame are so engrossed at what they’re doing that you believe every word that is being spoken.
Would it really be a Medieval black metal album if they didn’t sneak in a dungeon synth number? Of course, it wouldn’t! I didn’t think it would be the title track, but it’s the album’s shortest track fits nicely amongst all the bombast and heroics either side of it. The keyboard even sounds cheap which just adds to the charm while be accompanied by a stunning soprano led female vocal. Through Mistland Of Unearthly, shows the band’s more cinematic touches as it opens with a stunning choir part and even throws in metalcore touches on the riffing, and it begins to pick up pace. The song also has the album’s most ferocious vocals. There is great guitar leads all over the place balanced out by acoustic passages and a harp section before letting everything go to the wire with one final blast of black metal. This song displays everything this band are great at.
The album’s closing track Before The Eternal Night not only acts as the perfect closing sentiment but also sets the band up for a follow-up release. As if the story has ended on a cliffhanger rather than a finale. This is the most triumphant sounding track as if you have won the battle but the war rages on. The harpsichord returning ties everything up acting as a link between the opening and closing of the album’s journey.
Riverflame has set their stall out with an impressive debut album that shows this band are wise way beyond their years and this isn’t just a fun side project but a band with a long-term vision and a story to complete. It can be easy to struggle with pacing when melding such opposed styles of music, but that remains Riverflame’s greatest asset. The band are not just throwing in cinematics because they want their black metal songs to sound epic but because they have a serious love and understanding of how to utilise those elements potential. The album is as fast and heavy as it is heroic and beautiful and this is a story with many chapters still yet to be told.
(4.5 / 5)
