I confess to being a massive fan of icy cold Québecois black metal, having first discovered it in the 00s through a band called Frozen Shadows, and worked my way through others including Forteresse and Cantique Lépreux. Now we have Sombre Héritage, who as far as I can see are a new addition to this collective.
The initial sound of stormy weather comes as no surprise. To a hugely dark and oppressive and malevolent riff, echoing screams pierce the air. This makes your hair stand on end. “Polaris” is uncompromising and majestic. The thunderous instrumental blizzard plays on, switching mid-way but it’s no less imposing. Rapid fire drumming takes us to the weighty end of this opening piece. War, suffering and violence come together on “Sombre Héritage”. It has sombre elements but what I took away from it was the power and intensity, and the technical switch to another layer of merciless assault. Extreme they may be, but musically these tracks are adept and multi-coloured. “Nature Souillée” (Soiled Nature) has almost an element of post metal in its insistence. Forward we drive mechanically into who knows what abyss, guided by the cold riff which has an air of Disbelief, and that frost-bitten vocalist. Finally we’re let off the hook but not for long as there is a violent, thunderous explosion of drums and guitars. There is an air of melancholy, but we’re too busy taking cover from enemy fire. Then back we go to that hypnotic riff line. This is powerful stuff. To shake us up some more, “Déchéance” (Decline) ramps up the intensity. Not for the first time on the album, there is a pagan-style chorus running hauntingly through the veins of this turbulent and yet melodic black metal declaration. Once more, Sombre Héritage lay waste to all front of them as “Dissidence” bludgeons its way through cold scenes of despair. Again, in spite of the riot of activity and the periodic violent bursts, I felt a connection. Sombre Héritage’s structures are really tight, and while changing tempo and mood and overlaying them, it is all done fluidly. “Ténèbres” (Darkness) lives up to the band’s name. Measured in its approach, the instrumentalists create both fire and sorrow, while this time the haunting chorus appears through the misty gloom which the band has generated. The vocalist screams while the instrumentals are played with ear-splitting contempt before the storm returns and so it ends.
It may be black metal, but this is as creative and sophisticated as it gets. It all hinges on powerful intensity, but each song on “Alpha Ursae Minoris” has musical colour and vivid expression in the grim and cold soundscape that Sombre Héritage present to us.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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