Published by Davide Pappalardo on February 14, 2018
Cardinal Noire are a Finnish duo hailing from Lappeenranta, dedicated to caustic electro industrial inspired by 80’s and 90’s sound and, like many of their peers, especially by the Canadian school. Kalle Lindberg (vocals, production) and Lasse Alander (music, visuals) are not very shy about their love for Skinny Puppy (you will see the singer with his VIVIsectVI t-shirt during live performances) and the huge influence they have on their sound, and their music reflects this fact openly. But you are mistaken if you think they are mare copycats without their own value: the project shows in Deluge, their sophomore album, a darker, angrier, take on this sound, where their previous experiences in industrial metal bands (The Republic Of Desire, Protectorate) have clearly left their traces in the songwriting and song structures.
If their self-titled debut was a good, but sometimes too derivative, way of starting things off, now it seems they have managed to fuse their love for what they call “Brapkunst” with pitch-black venom and a taste for orchestral and majestic hidden melodies. The result is an epic sound which sounds straight to the point, but never banal or boring, showing its strength in nine cuts never overstaying their welcome thanks to a well pondered length time. The listener will find himself surrounded by pounding drum machines, sharp bass-lines and inquisitive vocals, emerged in a violent but at the same time evocative and emotional sound.
Narchon kfrcphl is a cinematic opener with serpentine rhythms and orchestral strings, where the effected voice of Lindberg reaches an epic crescendo full of pathos, enhanced by monolithic drum machines, while Controlled addiction is a perfect electro-industrial number heavily influenced by Too Dark Park in its structure made of dramatic basslines and emotional explosions. Here one of the main qualities of the band shows itself: the craft of violent, catchy, highly enthralling numbers. The title track starts slowly with sampled arches and disturbing mechanical effects, then it develops into a march driven by robotic angry vocals, where subtle melodies and evocative choruses have their place together with rousing refrains and pounding rhythms.
No reformation follows the previous path adding cutting riffs and syncopated structures, as well as atmospheric pauses, while Plague eviction gives a throbbing track built on destructive beats and a sharp vocal delivery, an old-school epic once again enriched by orchestral melodies. The disc ends with Bury my heart in a landfill, a surprising “ballad” with slow guitar riffs and melancholic atmospheres interspersed with noisy electronics where the angry nature of the band is not forgotten even amidst the eerie soundscape achieved.
Deluge shows a very welcome growth in songwriting, delivery and identity, confirming Cardinal Noire as a band proud of its influences, but at the same time willing to build upon them a personal approach in which spiteful aggression and melancholic atmospheres are fused together. Whereas many Puppy-inspired bands just focus on following the same path of the Canadian giants (most of the time just scratching the surface of what they really did), the Finnish duo use the orchestral and sometimes the “funkier” side of the “brap sound” in order to enrich their venomous and brooding performance. The result is an album that is addictive, well crafted, and sounds spontaneous and sincere: any lover of electro-indutrial should really give it a listen.
Label: Audiotrauma
Rating: 7,5