Band: Hanternoz
Album: A hed an noz, a noz, a noz
Genre: Black Metal
Country: France
Label: Antiq Records
Released: August 3rd, 2026
Introduction
The folk/black metal duo Hanternoz comes back with its 3rd full length titled “A Hed an Noz, a Noz, a Noz”; a concept album with songs telling the story of creatures of the Breton folklore, and how they can take many shapes during sleepless nights.
A Hed an Noz, a Noz, a Noz
Tracklist:
- Sur le Chemin des Fées (On the Fairies’ Path)
- La Lessive des Trépassés (The Laundry of the Dead)
- Le Diable de Quimper - Corentin (The Devil of Quimper - Corentin)
- La Peste à Limoges (The Plague in Limoges)
- Pe Trouz War an Douar (What Noise Upon the Earth)
- Jean-du-Feu (John-of-the-Fire)
- Quand j'ai Tué le Roi de la Forêt (When I Killed the King of the Forest)
This album delivers consistency even before you hit play: Even the artwork of the cover is a story in itself, depicting an Ankou, a creature that is both representing death itself and the fear of death. It sets a mood for a great album, felt right at the start of "Sur le Chemin des Fées"; a single then two guitars setting a soundscape, that to me, felt like watching the carriage go, slowly, with the figure of the cover disappearing in the distance. Then, around four minutes in, when it “hits”, it feels like we’re finally where the title of the song: The path of the fairies. One commentary is needed here, the vocals throughout the album are fantastic, delivering emotions, aggression, anguish and more.
"La Lessive des Trépassés" starts with a riff that brought me back, that feeling of stopping in your tracks and enjoying. It’s catchy, I dare say this song even reminded me of acts like Kampfar, with the catchy riffs under the extreme vocals. Now we’re not on the path of the fairies any more, now we’re where they wash the cloaks of the dead, and as the deeds of a person are never forgotten, not even in death; now the truth appears bright as they wash it. The choir of voices is a great addition, and the drumming is exceptional in this track and the album itself.
The next song, "Le Diable de Quimper - Corentin", starts with again the exceptional vocals of Hyvermor, in a kind of unexpected aggression that goes on then stops, into a beautiful acoustic passage that feels like reflecting on the aggression that just happened.
The song is about a devil atop the cathedral of Quimper, watching the humans below fight the fire, and feeling lonely and sad with what he’s watching, and this section felt exactly like being there and watching the creature watch the chaos below.
"La Peste à Limoges" is a long song that has one of the things I love the most in well-composed and produced black metal albums: An audible, present bass line. This song is a slower tempo, a more heavy feeling, very well complemented by the vocals and the repetition. Then a section with moments of pure silence with just a guitar sounding, then back to this sort of heavy feeling, which is perfect, as the song’s lyrics talk about a plague outburst in the city of Limoges. The next song, "Pe Trouz War an Douar", is a traditional folk song, from the times of December in Bretagne, a perfect interlude before "Jean-Du-Feu" starts, which is my favourite song off the album. The song is about a creature that holds fire in its hands, but here (mentioned by the artist), interpreted as everything that haunts you when you walk your path. One stand-out point for me in this song was a bit that dragged me in to a point I had to repeat it: the whole composition, the fast drumming, then the harsh vocals with the clean vocals intertwined, in a counterpoint of voices to then again bring me back to acts like Kampfar.
The last song, "Quand j'ai Tué le Roi de la Forêt", hits us right at the beginning with hypnotic repetitions, small details that are added until the vocals hit. It all opens, like a forest that was dense, then you find a spot to look up to the moon. The song is about meeting, following and then killing the King of the Forest, and not knowing if the king ever pardoned our protagonist. The composition here feels like a mix of adventure and guilt, and the vocals translate this in an incredible manner.
Conclusion
If you’re into folk/black, this is a must-listen. The compositions, the themes, the consistency and how the artists managed to put it all together are enough reasons for me to recommend this album to anyone with a heart for metal in general, and as an opinion, black metal sung in French feels different. The album isn’t short at all, but it goes by superfast for how good the compositions are and how they are arranged.
BZM Rating: 9/10
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