AN NCS PREMIERE: RIVERFLAME — “WHERE DRAGONS ONCE RULED”

(written by Islander)

“Riverflame were created in 2024 by members of Hail Spirit Noir, Ponte Del Diavolo, and OWLS.” That short announcement got my attention just as effectively as if it had been a meteor plowing into the house next door. Those other groups happen to be personal favorites, so there’s that, but the strong attraction also derives from curiosity about what these four musicians have done together.

What they’ve done is to record an album named Lunar Crusades that will be released on April 24th by code666/Aural Music. But what shape(s) does the music take? That’s hardly predictable, given the distinctively different nature of the music they’ve made in their other bands. The label provides some strong clues by describing the album as “a journey of epic medieval black metal atmospheres and neo-classical arrangements,” channeling “the spirit of Stormkeep, Summoning, and Dissection.”

Even more tangible clues were provided through the release of a song that shares the band’s name, and now we’re presenting more evidence through our premiere of the stunning album track “Where Dragons Once Ruled.”

Riverflame 2026 Photo by Dimitris Katsenos

The song does indeed sound in part like an homage to those groundbreaking bands named above, but the people behind Riverflame are too creative to render a mere clone, even a very good one, and so this draconic love letter includes some distinctive embellishments.

The song thunders and soars, driving hard and fast down below and flowing like glorious but also gritty tides high above. It also vigorously thrusts in the low end and spins out whirling and pealing melodies that deliriously glitter and blaze in the upper reaches. The music conjures mythic visions of splendor and danger, and the cut-throat savagery of the fanatically howling and viciously snarling vocals certainly adds to the feelings of peril.

But the song is mythic in other ways too. It includes vibrant, elegantly darting strings and extravagant singing, bursting tones like massed horns and fleet-fingered, fire-bright soloing that would bring a packed arena to life, as well as baritone spoken words, grand symphonic swells, trilling melodies that spiral and slither, and constant drum variations that add to the song’s enormous adrenaline-fueling impact.

It’s altogether a tremendously elaborate, ferocious, and breathtakingly glorious experience (there really is almost no room for a listener to breathe), and one that makes it very easy for the mind’s eye to envision a time and place where dragons once ruled.

RIVERFLAME Line-Up:
Haris – Guitars, Synths
Romain Nobileau– Vocals
Abro – Bass
Hakon Freyr Gustafsson – Drums

Lunar Crusades was mixed and mastered by Dimitris Douvras (Rotting Christ, Hail Spirit Noir), and the cover artwork is a magnificent painting by Mars Triumph (Manowar, Triumpher).

code666 will release the album on digipack CD, colorful LP vinyl, and digital formats. Find pre-orders via the link below, and we’re also including a stream of the previously released song “Riverflame” (which is also stunning).

PRE-ORDER:
https://riverflame.bandcamp.com/album/lunar-crusades

FOLLOW:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584692682834
https://www.facebook.com/code666.label