Artesia
Hilvern

"Hilvern" is a magical, enchanted, and timeless world where melancholy and romance reign. The eponymous album tells the story of a man who, lost in a mysterious and dark forest, encounters the ghost of a woman, an ancient spirit dwelling in this land for centuries, a restless soul who only wishes to be brought back to life. But the mortal, frightened by the solitude of this place, will flee from her request, leaving the unfortunate one at the mercy of her unhappy fate. Behind this seemingly straightforward story, however, lies a clever metaphor: the woman represents the ancient legends, gradually forgotten by men over the centuries, but still alive in some dark place beyond humanity's reach. The brave listener is thus invited to delve into the album's mysterious twists and paths, which will not fail in its aim, that of bestowing a sublime charm.

The narrating voice of this otherworldly story is Artesia, a duo of young French girls, Agathe (vocals, keyboard, and synth) and Gaelle (violin), passionate about ethereal music (Dark Sanctuary, Arcana, Stoa, Dargaard), romantic literature, inspired by the landscapes and wild nature of the northernmost regions of France (Agathe comes from Brocéliande, a small Breton town, and all the places that inspired the album are captured in beautiful photographs available on the band's official website and myspace page) and by films, fairy tales, and soundtracks with ethereal atmospheres and fantasy traits. Originally started by Agathe as a one-woman band a few years ago, the Artesia project evolved to incorporate the violin into the sparse instrumentation used, embracing the ethereal sounds of Dark Sanctuary's first album, "Royaume mélancolique," while deviating from the funereal themes dear to their compatriots, tackling rather different lyrical subjects and completely eliminating drums, bass, and guitar from the sound's economy. Thus, we don't find the shadow of death in Artesia's songs, but only a melancholy that seems infinite and impalpable, yet at the same time able to lull with its unique sweetness, the enchantment of a proposal that is always valid and ageless.

Severity and hardness are practically unknown concepts to these girls, and it's easy to understand by listening to the opener "Une nuit en Hilvern," entirely built on an enveloping melody created by Agathe's ethereal vocals and synths; it feels like being magically catapulted to Lothlórien, the land of Elves in "The Lord of the Rings." From the subsequent "L'autre chemin," a brief lullaby akin to a liturgical chant, the violin makes its entrance, painting resignation over the purplish landscapes that slowly unfold in the listener's imagination. But it's only with the following "Rencontre avec la dame" that we have the possibility to immerse ourselves in the actual concept, ferried towards the enchanted forest by a mournful piano and the subdued, distant vocal lines borrowed from Marquise Ermia, the first vocalist of Dark Sanctuary. The violin is a butterfly that flits around us but evades capture as it is a pure materialization of visions and feelings, continuing to hover in the air and leaving behind a magical and fragrant dust. Thus, a millennial sadness surfaces, catalyzed in a beam of white light, the ghost of the woman who is the story's protagonist, and the desire for a new life, destined to remain an ephemeral hope. "La clairerie des fées" references the Iberian Narsilion for its woodland landscapes inhabited by timeless but kind and friendly creatures, who comfort us with their fairy song, and so on for forty minutes, "Hilvern" flows gently like water between the hands, without too many jolts or particularly ecstatic moments.

As you've probably realized, the album is pleasant but its main flaw is its incompleteness: the tracks are ethereal, cathartic, and sad as expected, but too brief (the almost total absence of lyrics is somewhat detrimental) and too similar to each other to leave a lasting impression (Dark Sanctuary, in terms of inspiration and concreteness, are on another level, it's impossible to equate their offering). There's a clear need for a stronger personality, but Artesia seems to already have a clear idea of the direction to take, so we hope the next album will be even more interesting than this one, but at the same time, feature some element capable of distinguishing the duo from a mere copy (albeit talented) of the aforementioned historic acts.