{"product_id":"seasons_of_the_dark_hive","title":"Seasons Of The Dark Hive","description":"\u003cp\u003eSeasons of the Dark Hive is the debut full-length album by Belgian medieval folk duo Tabernis — comprising Noxifer (Beekeeper) on bagpipes and Umbrae (Beekeeper) on davul — released on April 24, 2026 via Napalm Records. The duo's entire artistic identity is built around the ancient practice of beekeeping as both metaphor and ritual framework: they perform in medieval beekeeper costumes, and their music is conceived as an immersive sonic and conceptual world in which the hive represents the balance between humanity and nature that the band believe is being irreversibly lost. Chaoszine noted that despite fitting no traditional metal or rock category, the duo had already earned appearances at Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze festival off the strength of a debut EP alone — a testament to the visceral, primal quality of their sound. The 15-track album spans around 45 minutes of largely instrumental compositions, anchored by just two instruments but enriched by the subtle presence of a mysterious \"Dark Monk\" on strings, occasional distorted whispers, and the soft ritualistic hum of bees woven through the mix.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album opens with \"Sanctus,\" a choral summoning that Napalm Records describes as \"a rhythmic reminder of the strength in many,\" before unfolding through an array of moody instrumentals that oscillate between the buoyantly buzzing (\"Tenebrae,\" \"Sylvanot\") and the pensively droning (\"Noctilis\"). Two tracks reach back into genuine medieval source material: \"Mel Obscurum (Palästinalied)\" is the duo's rendition of Walther von der Vogelweide's celebrated 13th-century Palestine Song, into which Tabernis has woven a new text evoking the twilight season of the hive, while \"Hive Dance (Bransle du maître de la maison)\" draws from a late medieval French dance tune. The album also includes a reworking of the Occitan troubadour song \"Ai Vist Lo Lop\" as \"Apem Vidi.\" RAMzine described the lead single \"Tenebrae\" as carrying \"a steady pulse, a balance between slowness and urgency\" with \"almost hypnotic energy,\" while the band themselves describe the album as designed to create \"something between energy and stillness — a form of connection to something deeper, something older.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Record Store","offers":[{"title":"CD \/ Album","offer_id":53536784122170,"sku":"38164","price":14.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/2041\/0682\/files\/Screenshot_2026-05-29_at_3.27.12_PM.jpeg?v=1780082943","url":"https:\/\/recordstore.ca\/products\/seasons_of_the_dark_hive","provider":"Record Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}