''Archangels in Black'' is the fourth studio album by French

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a Tempo#Basic tempo markings, tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive m ...

. According to their website, the mastering of ''Archangels in Black'' was completed on 3 September 2008. After numerous delays, the album was officially released on 2 February 2009 in Europe. The band stated that "the compositions are the ultimate balance between melodic and extreme metal and can be considered as a more brutal version of ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

''". ''Archangels in Black'' is Adagio's first and only album to include Christian Palin on vocals, but the backing vocals were sung by Gustavo Monsanto, Adagio's former vocalist who sang on ''

Dominate The Dominate, also known as the late Roman Empire, is the name sometimes given to the "despotic" later phase of imperial government in the ancient Roman Empire. It followed the earlier period known as the "Principate". Until the empire was reunit ...

''.Adagio – Sign With Listenable Records
metalstorm.ee. 13 October 2008. Retrieved on 2009-07-12.

Pre-release and production

The band entered the studio in October 2007, but they had to exit in order to do a tour. They re-entered the studio in December 2007. On 13 October 2008, Adagio announced that the album would be released through the label

Listenable Records Listenable Records is an independent metal label originally founded in 1990 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music. The company has published albums from many acclaimed extreme metal bands, such as Immo ...

. On 24 October 2008, information about the album's artwork and its complete track listing was released. The cover artwork was done by Guilherme Sevens. The release date for ''Archangels in Black'' was also announced to be 2 February 2009.Adagio – New Album Details
metalstorm.ee. 9 February 2009. Retrieved on 2009-07.12. A 3:58 video was released for "Fear Circus" in January 2009.Adagio: 'Fear Circus' Video Available
blabbermouth.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved on 2009-07-12.

Track listing

#"Vamphyri" – 4:27 #"The Astral Pathway" – 5:04 #"Fear Circus" – 3:59 #"Undead" – 4:41 #"Archangels in Black" – 5:37 #"The Fifth Ankh" – 4:43 #"Codex Oscura" – 9:08 #"Twilight at Dawn" – 6:24 #"Getsu Senshi" – 3:42

Personnel

* Stéphan Forté – guitars, vocals * Franck Hermanny – bass * Christian Palin – vocals * Eric Lebailly – drums *

Kevin Codfert Kevin Codfert is the current keyboardist of the band Adagio. He joined the band in 2003, working on the album ''Underworld''. He is the producer of progressive metal band Myrath, which met with the band during Rock Festival in Tunisia in Decembe ...

– keyboards

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Adagio (band) albums