French Progressive Metal band Elvaron have unveiled official music video for “Heads Around Phlegyas,” a central single from their seventh full-length concept album, “Canto Inferno.” Released on November 6, 2026, in collaboration with Fantai’Zic Production, the album marks a major chapter in the group’s three-decade career, channeling the narrative structure of Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia through modern Progressive Metal arrangements.
Watch the music video for “Heads Around Phlegyas” via the YouTube player below:
The music video, edited directly by guitarist and co-founder Matthieu Morand, pairs the track’s seven-minute composition with visual adaptations of Gustave Doré’s historical 19th-century engravings created for Dante’s Inferno.
Visual Concept: Gustave Doré’s Artwork and Dante’s Fifth Circle
The visual framework of “Heads Around Phlegyas” incorporates wood engravings created by French illustrator Gustave Doré between 1861 and 1868 for Dante’s Divina Commedia. Edited by Matthieu Morand, the video translates Doré’s monochrome artwork into a moving visual narrative, depicting Dante‘s passage across the Styx.
In Dante‘s original text, Phlegyas serves as the ferryman across the fifth circle of Hell, where souls bound by anger remain submerged in stagnant waters. As documented in the band’s thematic notes, the video follows this journey across the marsh toward the iron walls of the City of Dis (Dité), guarded by the Three Furies, matching Doré‘s classical artwork with the song’s dynamic musical shifts.
Composed by guitarist Matthieu Morand and bassist Julien Skorka, with lyrics written by Benoit Guillot, “Heads Around Phlegyas” runs for over 7 minutes. The track combines Progressive Metal complexity, recalling Symphony X, Dream Theater, and Rush, with the rhythmic energy of American Thrash Metal influences like Overkill and Testament.
Lyrically, the song examines themes of conflict, struggle, and perseverance across the Styx. Lead vocals by Géraldine Bocciarelli-Gadaut guide the listener through changing time signatures, acoustic textures, and Heavy guitar riffs. Keyboardist Nicolas Marekovic and drummer Théophile Drach establish a technical rhythm section, supporting acoustic 12-string, classical, and electric guitar work alongside fretless bass lines.
Formed in Nancy, France, in 1993, Elvaron has built a discography centered on thematic, story-driven concept albums, including “Mages Battle” (1997), “The Five Shires” (2002), “The Call of the Black Dragon” (2004), “Gravitation Control System” (2007), and “Ghost Of A Blood Tie” (2016). “Canto Inferno” is dedicated to the memory of Michel Morand.
Recorded between 2018 and 2025 at Elvaron’s studio and regional locations, “Canto Inferno” was produced jointly by the band and Fantai’Zic Production, with mixing by Matthieu Morand and mastering by Flavien Morel.
Purchase “Canto Inferno” on Bandcamp: https://elvaron.bandcamp.com/album/canto-inferno
Tracklist:
01. Charon and the unbaptized 09:52
02. Love and lust 06:34
03. Unsatisfied hunger 06:33
04. Sisyphus 06:07
05. Heads around Phlegyas 07:18
06. Let the soul die with the body 05:16
07. Alta Ripa 07:30
08. Deception enumeration 06:20
09. In imis infernis regnat Lucifer 04:02
Lineup:
Géraldine Bocciarelli-Gadaut / Lead & Backing Vocals
Julien Skorka / Electric & Fretless Bass
Matthieu Morand / Guitars (Electric, Acoustic, Classical, 12-String, Dobro)
Nicolas Marekovic / Piano, Keyboards & Synthesizers
Théophile Drach / Drums & Percussion
Guest Musicians:
Alice Laurent / Cello
Louis Morand / Flute