siLLy puPPy This album starts off with a ¾ timing waltz like guitar march sounding nothing like black metal. Second track kicks in and you get some lo-fi guitar riffing with extremely deranged screaming and a traditional metal guitar solo. Hmmmm.... this is some weird stuff. Third track starts off with a serious cymbol roll with more ¾ timing guitar, tribal drumming and the same deranged black metal screaming. Fourth track begins with same deranged black metal vocals simultaneously with Gregorian chants before a somewhat standard old school black metal riff begins.

Acoustic guitar intros, drum rolls, the grim scream vocals themselves accompanied by an operatic diva, doom metal minimalism or whatever else that happens to introduce the theme is the strategy for the diversification. Then once established that sound is always followed by the black metal guitar riffing and deranged and I mean SERIOUSLY deranged vocals to follow. It sounds formulaic but it really works and sustains my interest.

This is my first PEST NOIRE album and I love it! I think this is absolutely brilliant and look forward to hearing much more of this fine French black metal from Monsieur Famine. The trick for enjoying this is to not take it too seriously. Lots of over-the-topism taking place here. I enjoy this kind of stuff because it dares to expand beyond the parameters of someone else's ordained definitions of what black metal should be.