The release of Ceremonial Death in October 2024 marked a significant milestone in the journey of MESSE NOIRE, a Quebecois Black Metal band that had slowly built momentum in the Canadian extreme metal underground over almost a decade.
Messe Noire, whose name translates to “Black Mass” in French, originated in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, a region with a notably active Extreme Metal scene.
The band was formed in 2016, emerging slowly from the shadows with initial live performances and local notoriety. Although the members remained largely underground figures for years, their simultaneous involvement in other extreme projects within Quebec likely contributed to Messe Noire’s delayed debut, finally culminating in the ‘Ceremonial Death’ debut in 2024.
In French media, journalists have often remarked on the “presque une décennie” (almost a decade) gap between Messe Noire’s formation and the album’s arrival.
As chronicler Christian Lamothe described in Ondes Chocs, the wait resulted from the band’s members being “liée au divers projet de chaque individu,” alluding to ongoing obligations with other Quebec Black/Death Metal acts such as Strigampire, Satanic, and Nekrograal. That said, Messe Noire persisted as a clandestine project under the rule of core members, gradually gaining a reputation for intense, uncompromising live performances. Band members are widely credited only by sinister pseudonyms: Death (Steve de Cotret), Damned, Morbid (Stef Morbid), and Witch Fukker.
Their musical identity has been frequently characterized as “old school” Black Metal, with the visceral aggression and rawness typical of the genre’s second wave. Several reviewers and interviewers compare their sound to early Enthroned or Setherial, and insist that the band stays true to the Quebecois Black Metal tradition, a scene known for its “sinistre” and uncompromising approach.
Notably, their style is described as “militant and destructive Black Metal” and “raw and without compromise” (“plutôt raw et sans compromis”). In French-language coverage, Marc Desgagné writes that the record contains: “la hargne du Black Metal et quelques influences Thrash Metal” (“the fury of Black Metal and some Thrash Metal influences”).
Other observers note minimal melody amidst the rapid, relentless pace, and a preference for short, tight, brutal compositions.
Lyrically, Messe Noire adheres to bleak and confrontational themes: misanthropy, blasphemy, and anti-Christian polemic, contributing to an atmosphere of outright blasphemy and nihilism. Their performances, both on record and in person, eschew mainstream accessibility in favor of “unbridled violence” and anti-human motifs.
In summary, the band’s influences run deep within the Black Metal genre, but their individual backgrounds and involvement in various Quebec Death and Black Metal bands, as well as their openness to French-language lyrics, help distinguish their output within an already crowded field. Raw and ruthless Black Metal from Quebec’s underground, 8 short, fast, and aggressive tracks that mix old-school Black Metal with thrash influences. The sound is chaotic, fast, and violent, with pounding drums and sharp guitars. Lyrics are anti-religious and satanic, delivered in both French and English.
Standout track: ‘Macabre Premonition’, very intense and atmospheric. The album lasts just under 30 minutes, but it’s packed with energy and fury.
It’s a feral furious blast of second-wave Black Metal — fast, chaotic, and unapologetically anti-human. The production is intentionally raw, with relentless drums, razor-sharp riffs, and vocals that alternate between French and English. It’s fillled to the brim with satanic violence, anti-Christian blasphemy, and misanthropy.
‘Ceremonial Death’ was released in a limited edition of 250 CDs by Anti-Human Productions. If you like it crude, get yourself a copy!!
