VIA DOLORIS – Guerre Et Paix
Release Date: 20th March 2026
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal
FFO: Satyricon, Bathory, Kampfar.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Set to be released on March 20th, 2026, Norwegian act VIA DOLORIS offers their forthcoming album Guerre Et Paix, an album through the mindwork of Gildas Le Pape, who handles all instruments except session drums. It’s a strong blend of older style Norwegian black metal with some of the long-form music that we are starting to enjoy in the contemporary scene. The thing that gives this album its voice is the older school of sound, which seems to draw from that first period of black metal where the recording was meant to be more musical, sometimes folksy, and clean, rather than the harsh and blistering first wave of Norway’s black metal. Overall, you’ll see that I found the album to be certainly above average, being a quality release from Season of Mist, which rarely disappoints.
One of the things I noticed right away is that the music tends to dig into the more melodic and epic side of the black metal genre, harkening to Dissection, Satyricon, and Bathory. I think that having some of that 1990s clean black metal production is certainly something that gives the album a listenable feature that tends to break from the more extreme side of the genre. I am intrigued by the recording of the instruments, which uses a clever stereophonic effect to give a “wider” sound, as if listening from a live perspective. This isn’t new in recording and mix/master techniques, but it’s something that I really appreciate whenever I hear it.
I think that when the music gets to a little heavier node, it tends to feel folksy, still. There’s an older vibe to the melodies and refrains. As a listener, I thought of a distinctly-European sound that felt grounded, planted in the earlier world of black metal goodness as it pervaded south from the Nordic scene. I don’t know if I’d call it folk black, but there are some elements that really stick out to me, especially on Visdommens Vei. If you are a fan of folksy-black, that’s the track for you on the album. Most everything else felt distinctly-darker, though, something that I think brought the album into the bleak-er side of the black metal scene. However, the blend is all that matters. Black coffee is like Black metal, right? I’d prefer certain blends to make it richer, though, which is something to consider.
The tracks are LONG, like 7 minutes or more for most of them. I think that black metal is served best with long, tall, atmospheres that tell stories. I understand that there are some folks who like the gritty, first wave Norwegian stuff that comes in with short track times, but I’m someone who really appreciates the long-haul tracks that give listeners a long journey of bleakness and dread. That’s what VIA DOLORIS is bringing with this latest release. I think that it’s going to be something that will split a room of black metal fans, but it’s got a place for sure. Thankfully, Season of Mist is always bringing artists that are exceptionally-good into the fold. I think that this is a good example of a thoughtful release that is going to please black metal fans.
Overall, I think that the album is above-average in content and sound. It leans towards the older style, harkening back to 1990s, but brings in a lot of the modern epic black metal that we hear in bands like 1914, Gaerea, etc, but mixes the older 1990s-era techniques and elements that will give listeners some nostalgia and reach out to fans of the older-school black metal scene. I think that some of my favorite tracks on the album are Communion, Ultimate Tourment, and Un Frac Soleil, having tremendous amounts of structured fun and long run times.
(3.5 / 5)
