Let’s begin by saying that I’m new to the ‘black arts’ of music. Only a few people get older and start liking heavier and noisier stuff. My thing has always been more old school metal, but unlike my old fellows I never thought, or said, that there were no good modern metal bands. To have an open mind is quite essential for a metal fan.
Said that let’s talk about the album beginning with its art cover. At first I must say I thought it was a commonplace, to many a cliché. But listening to the play I changed my mind. It fits well to the album’s musical proposal which is an ethereal, dark, and surreal atmosphere of new black metal bands.
The music pleases. Needless to say that it won’t please standard black metal fans, especially those who worship bands with a more fast, furious and delirious punch. By the way, it’s not the band’s proposal in this album to be punchy. The band prefers, if I’m allowed to say, delicate sound textures, classical structures with acoustic guitars and piano. The result is beautiful, and almost a blasphemy for a black metal band, heavenly songs with an ELP feeling that goes all around them.
The album is a self released EP with only six tracks. Most songs are short and acoustic which reveals us the fine quality of the musicians, a must in metal these days. The title track is the longest with more than eight minutes and shows some of the vocal work, who prefers not to stick only to guttural lines but changes stiles with a clean voice. Again the instrumental parts are the highlights. Very well played with creative instrumental passages! Music is intended to reflect someone’s soul, and Noire did it well. You can feel all the pain tormented souls feel in the dark, and it’s a lot of pain! Guilty as well. It’s a fine piece of unspeakable pain to me. We can notice that some October Tide influences played a real nice role in making this album.
Well, then, if you’re looking to a Hail Satan black metal band stay away from Noire! But if you like melodic and atmospherical songs, that’s the band!
