When I saw the name Adorn on our promo list, I almost jumped out of my skin. I distinctly remember stumbling across their demo Grace back in 2013 when it first dropped and being blown away by the magic of it. “Blackgaze” as we knew it was just beginning to take shape as an institution, but even then, Adorn sounded nothing like their peers. It was breathtaking and magical and I couldn’t get enough of it. And then? They broke up and it was radio silence until recently when the release returned to Bandcamp. Now here we are, more than a decade later, and we finally have a proper self-titled debut.
Adorn have always put themselves in a very specific time and place when it comes to their music. Self-styled as “romantic black metal,” they lay heavy on atmosphere, yes, but also their choice of instrumentation evokes that very difficult to describe sense of ethereal romance that so many chase and few end up mastering. The original trio from the Grace EP is back, with Coeur Loyale handling guitar, bass, vocals and songwriting, Valiant Desire adding violin, piano and choral arrangements, and Bon Valour on drums. The strings and piano are not just gimmicks either; rather, they’re a huge centerpiece of the music, maybe even more than the guitars. The way everything blends together is so enchanting, reminiscent of castles and knights and royalty without being castle metal. It’s positively dreamlike, which goes along with the UK-based trio’s ethos: transcendence of art once liberated from the sterile confines of modernity, to the melancholy of deserted halls, and to the fading glimmer of courtly love. One of the things that Adorn have always done right, and one of the things that compelled me to dive into their music headfirst, is their ability to transport the listener to a very specific mental and temporal space; their music is incredibly affecting, and it perfectly captures that sense of devotion and affection that is at the core of real romantic music.
And it’s completely spellbinding in its beauty. Opener and lead single “Secrets of the Heart” drips with the kind of saccharine sweetness that made Grace so appealing to me, and so unlike any other kind of atmospheric black metal out there. This is stately, courtly, and gorgeous, with reverb soaked guitars laying a thick and glossy foundation for the violin and piano melodies to soar and tug at the heartstrings. The choir on “Your Majesty” singing over clean guitars and gentle drums and piano is mesmerizing in its simplicity and deft in its execution. “When Time Stood Still” is so beautiful it actually hurts to listen to; it reminds me of the moment I knew I was falling in love with the person I’m going to marry imminently. The melodies are what carries Adorn into the stratosphere; both Coeur Loyale and Valiant Desire know their way around a hook, and even as straightforward as they are, they are the most effective part of the whole experience. The songs do tend to all follow a similar structure, so if you’re looking for a variety in sound you might not get it here, and the vocals (there are vocals now!) are mixed strangely low, but at the end of the day, I don’t really mind either of those minor complaints all that much because Adorn is so affecting, in a very real, deep and tender way.
When I used to listen to Grace, I used to imagine it played at my wedding. My wedding just so happens to be tomorrow, and while Adorn probably won’t make it into the ceremony, I did write my vows with Grace and Adorn on repeat. I don’t really know what higher praise I can give it. Listening to this album helped me express to Angela all of the infinite ways my life is better with her in it, and I will never be able to thank Adorn enough. That this album drops /the day before our actual wedding/, more than a decade after I got a first glimpse at what that sense of romance and beauty could look like, feels like no coincidence. It feels fated. Go listen to this album and think about someone you love. I will.
— Ian
Adorn is available now on Northern Silence Productions. For more information on Adorn, visit their Facebook page.
One thought on “Album Review: Adorn — Adorn”