Dark Sanctuary
Les mémoires blessées

Lovers of symphonic gothic sounds will surely know Dark Sanctuary. Their 2004 album "Les Mémoires Blessées", the fourth in their discography, can be considered a significant step forward compared to the others, as it is structured with enviable complexity and mastery, and above all, it is imbued with an ethereal, solemn, sweet, and disarming sadness. The singer, Dame Pandora, has a stunning and crystalline voice, deep enough yet magnificently melodic and lulling, guiding us through forests whose branches do not let light filter through, ancient dilapidated gothic cathedrals, and rural cemeteries with gravestones covered in green moss.

The first track "Le Clameur Du Silence" leaves one astounded. Endowed with a pathos that is sometimes enchanting, the song is almost entirely centered on the aforementioned singer's voice, at times pleading, other times more direct and narrative, and on a majestic and melancholic piano. All of it creates an almost sacred atmosphere, and the song immediately captivates the listener at first listen, cutting them off at the knees and charming instantly.

Not all of the subsequent twelve tracks possess the same beauty as the first, but some noteworthy pieces still emerge. Particularly notable is "Présence", more mystical and lively compared to the previous, able to recreate a pastoral scene of a Sunday morning in a small village, with mist still lightly invading the streets and people slowly making their way toward the church on the background to celebrate the usual Sunday functions, a building from whose open doors a soothing organ spreads and whose bells call the villagers.

"D'Une Mère à Sa Fille" closely follows the first song, especially in the basic voice-piano-keyboards structure. It perhaps strikes for its great intensity, much more funerary and majestic in nature, enriched by percussion in the second part, increasing an already high tension.

Very similar to the previous ones is "Abre Los Ojos", inspired by Amenabar's film of the same name, a track that rises in the symphonic and magnificent finale.

Of a different kind is the eighth "Laiseez Moi Mourir", led by tribal percussion and marked by a much more medieval rhythm compared to the previous and following ones, an excellent piece that breaks a bit from the canonical structure always proposed up to this point.

I would finish by only mentioning three other tracks, "Puisses-Tu...", "L'Instant Funèbre", and the concluding title track, the latter entirely instrumental and wrenching in its simplicity, a true farewell with a dark and very sad tone.

The album has two flaws: its length, perhaps excessive, and a certain lack of variety, which at some point leads to grouping all the songs into at most three main structures. This second flaw can only be corrected by listening to the album a lot, thus becoming familiar with it and being able to appreciate it in every single facet.

If it consisted of fewer pieces, perhaps those of the highest quality, it would be a top-rated work, but as it is hindered by the aforementioned flaws, the judgment drops slightly. Nonetheless, the album is a true gem, engaging, full of meanings, endowed with excellent lyrics, a symphonic gothic that will please not only fans of this genre but also those attracted to certain sounds balancing between folk, gothic, medieval atmospheres, and melody, a lot of melody.