I love to see a band find their style and go for it, so to speak. In 2024, Hartlight released their debut album As Above, So Below, and it was a solid record. On February 28th, however, they are releasing their sophomore album, and it is head and shoulders above the debut. They chose to lean into their strengths, and it really paid off. The album is called The Triumph of Metal.
Hartlight come to us from France. Their lineup has changed slightly since last year. The current band includes Noémie Marie on vocals, Adrien Djouadou on guitar, bass, backing vocals, and programming, Adrien Guingal on guitar and some harsh vox, and Guillaume Remih on drums.
On their debut, the band played a gothic symphonic metal with lots of the genre’s tropes, but with clear passion and energy. For the follow-up, they’ve leaned more into the progressive side of their sound and also unleashed the potential of the guitar work—-seriously, the guitar work on the album sounds absolutely amazing. I feel that Noémie pushes herself vocally, hitting some really high notes at times, and the rhythm section is far more varied and effective. They also leaned more into the cinematic and theatrical side of their sound, even giving the album a tongue-in-cheek alchemist title.
I can’t emphasize enough how this band has taken some big steps forward for their sound. The title track opens the album and is a good example. The guitar work is sensational and pretty damn heavy, and the instrumental in the second half is memorable. The vocals are huge, the orchestrations are theatrical, and the climax of the song will give you chills. I think “Polymorphia” is also a good example, though in different ways. The piece revels in a fantastic vocal hook and a rolling, deeply enjoyable ambience that I find myself revisiting often. It’s one of my favorites, I think.
Of course, the band doesn’t let up, and I think the album just gets better as each track arrives. “The Scales of Rebis” is energetic, heavy, and downright cool, and the main riff interplays with the orchestrations perfectly. “Midnight” is another favorite with its dark character and almost this 2000’s progressive power metal atmosphere. I love it.
The second half of the album is just as good. “The City of Tears” took some time for me, but I really like it; this song is almost nine minutes long, and transitions between mournful vocal passages and varied instrumentals that are so much fun to hear—you absolutely will be headbanging. “Mind’s Arboretum” is a fascinating track to me for how it balances heavy riffs with what I would describe as an upbeat and uplighting vocal melody, but, of course, the band still lays down a searing instrumental that is just terrific.
The final tracks are great. “As My Will to Power Is Seen” is a shorter track that is almost like a ballad at first; the riffs enter the picture eventually, but I feel like emotion is what really sells it. The final piece is “A Song of Blood and Steel”, and it is a perfect closer. At over eleven minutes long, it takes itself quite seriously with a Far Eastern motif and theatrical presentation, it takes its time and builds energy and atmosphere inside this cinematic and powerful framework. I love the expanded orchestrations, one interlude sounding very much like the Moody Blues of yesteryear, and the final vocal minutes of the album sound earnest and authentic.
Hartlight have crafted a wonderful balance between progressive and symphonic metal, with plenty of passion, gothic and alchemist appeal, and darkness. There isn’t a single weak or bad song on The Triumph of Metal, so the album is far more than solid or even good: it’s great. I suspect that my opinion will only get stronger as I keep listening this year.
____________
Find Hartlight online:
____________
____________
The PROG Mind 