Info
- Band(s): Sacrenoir
- Label(s): Sepulchral Productions
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: June 14, 2023
- Author(s): VincentP
While both are considered amongst the frontrunners of the Métal Noir Québécois scene, it has been a while since we last saw an album by either Forteresse or Monarque. Forteresse’s fantastic fifth record ‘Thèmes Pour la Rébellion’ dates from 2016, while the superb ‘Lys Noir’ was released in 2013 by Monarque (although admittedly the band did release an EP in 2019). Needless to say, a new album would be most welcome. In a sense our wishes come true in 2023, but not quite in the shape of material of either of the bands. Instead, the debut full-length of Sacrenoir sees the light. This project unites Forteresse founder and former Brume d’Automne member Athros on guitar, bass and drums and Monarque mastermind and Forteresse live member Monarque on vocals and keyboards. With ‘Comme des Revenants Parmi les Ruines’ the band follows their split EP with Ende and an EP from 2020 with a full-blown debut album.
The fast melody-led Black Metal of Forteresse and the more on early Satyricon based style of Monarque certainly find their way back on the debut of Sacrenoir, but the band is more than just a clash of those two bands. With an altogether similar high pace but rawer approach than their main bands, Sacrenoir comes close to early Darkthrone and Gorgoroth. With an added flair of epic qualities the music certainly has similarities to Bathory’s first four of five albums too. Bathory in general seems important to the band, and it’s safe to say that the track ‘Le puits du diable’ has more than a thing or two in common with the song ‘Necromansy’ off the infamous self-titled Bathory album. Not as blatant as Varg’s rendition of the song on the Burzum debut, but certainly a solid nod to one of Black Metal’s ultimate classics. With a rumbling bass sound, a track like ‘Épuration’ has a bit of a Carpathian Forest feel as well, but it’s mostly the Darkthrone and Gorgoroth vibes mixed with the hints of Bathory and Forteresse type melodies all draped in a raw mix that prevail.
‘Comme des Revenants Parmi les Ruines’ has plenty to offer for both admirers of the band members’ other bands as well as more classic Scandinavian Black Metal. It’s songs like ‘Aux portes de l’enfer’ that will instantly appeal to the followers of Forteresse, Monarque and the Métal Noir Québécois scene, raw, with pace and urgency and raspy vocals yet catchy in its riffs and subcutaneous melodies. The more Darkthrone-based fast ‘Millenuits ont passé’ has great lead melodies and double guitars, while ‘The Blade of Satan’ mixes typical Gorgoroth rhythms with heavy melodies. And while the keyboards are only very sparsely used or audible, they add a nice epic layer to the midpaced ‘Vers d’autres mondes’ without taking away the raw edge of the track. So all in all, ‘Comme des Revenants Parmi les Ruines’ might not exactly be the next Forteresse or Monarque album, but instead offers a mix of both infused with the raw classic Scandinavian Black Metal sound. And with that, it’s another testimony of the high quality of the Québécois Black Metal scene and the endless creativity of the individuals that so proudly are part of it.
