Comprised of two individuals from a bevy of black metal bands in the Québec scene, Sacrenoir arrives with their debut album. Touted by the label as being a mix of various second wave bands, such as Darkthrone and Gorgoroth, this is an album that promises a throwback to the 90s with its icy style of black metal. However, does it fulfill that promise? Or has the ice melted, leaving nothing more than a tepid puddle on the ground?
Sacrenoir‘s style is indeed very heavily inspired by the second wave bands of the 90s, but they don’t really make any attempts to make it sound interesting. Songs are very similar sounding, and there aren’t very many efforts to switch up the sound into something perhaps a touch more intriguing than the bands they take influence from. Any attempt at writing something that sounds a bit more like Forteresse, where both of the members play, is quickly replaced by another set of trem-picked riffs that sound like outtakes of a Gorgoroth album. I find myself apathetic towards this album, as there isn’t really much of a purpose in listening to it when I could listen to their influences (I won’t, but that’s another story). Perhaps Sacrenoir will release something that makes more of an attempt to stand out from the formless sea of second wave worship, but I am not holding my breath.
