Martin´s review: Messe Noire by Azriel

Anyone who has ever heard of this album will undoubtedly perceive one of the best examples of contemporary darksynth music. What has turned into a great concept album is the gloomy imagination of Azriel and his approach to the genre. The result is his music which reflects some of the main points of the genre – the presentation of a nightmare that might very well come true. Continue to read on, if you dare, and let’s see what I mean exactly. Come on, go under that portal and emerge in the cult. Messe Noir awaits! 

Darkest Practices of Darksynth Presented by Azriel's Messe Noir

Let me introduce you to this cultic world, Messe Noir is actually a whole imagined world that comes into existence through Azriel's music. Starting from the first few tracks I actually was able to close my eyes and experience what he means by corruption and dark thoughts. And here, in the beginning of this review, I would like to note that the title is actually quite fitting, it kind of reminds of another great album with the name "Messe Noir" in another genre. You probably know what I mean. But let's get back to Azriel. 

While I myself am not the greatest fan of the darksynth microgenre I do think that this is one of the best examples to dive in. It offers the best mix of a driving atmosphere with that deep bass and the upbeat rhythm. Just perfect in order to mix in the concept album. I have always relied on my own reinterpretation of the tracks, so I would suggest to skip the description and focus on the story as you yourself can imagine it. The music is quite fitting even for DIY roleplaying sessions. That's actually a nice bonus, consider it as an additional incentive to buy the album. 

I listened to Messe Noir through my headphones and at a few times I had to stop walking in order to catch my breath. Rarely you could listen to such an immersive experience, depending on your experience with the genre and cult movies from the past I am sure that you will be able to identify the points of inspiration which have been used to compose the tracks. 

Just Listen to Burning Place from This Album

I like to highlight at least one track from the album I'm writing, for this particular album I would like to focus on "Burning Place". For me this is one of the gems of this release. The detuned sawtooth sound combined with the distorted sound and sequence underneath is something which deserves praise. You can really place it just about any horror game or movie and it will magically turn into an organic part of the overall project. Azriel has been able to create a composition that can breakthrough in any chart. 

It also blends in perfectly with the next track on the album ("New Order") which begins with a nice atmospheric intro and proceeds with a heavy sequence and a great lead synth sound. Listening to the rest of the tracks over and over again there is hardly any bad composition. All of them include the right mixture of mood, composition and imagination. 

In conclusion I can say that while this is not an easy listen for a run in the park, I recommend that you sit down on a dark and silent night and "pump it" in our headphones or hi-fi audio system. I also recommend a fiery whiskey drink in hand. Once again Messe Noir comes as a highly-recommended album in each enthusiast's collection.

Released March 13, 2019
Music by Azriel
Artwork by Younsou