1. Around 2020, you decided to launch Noirsuaire. Why did you make this decision? Why did you choose the name Noirsuaire, and what does it refer to?
After years and years of doing nothing musically, I grabbed an old guitar of mine and felt a little interested by home recording. Was exciting enough to turn a couple of riffs into songs. The name Noirsuaire comes from a role playing book I loved when I was a kid.
2. Over the years, Noirsuaire has released a series of smaller EPs and demos, culminating in the release of "The Dragging Poison," your first full-length album. I imagine this decision was quite significant for you. Did you feel it was the right time to take the next step and release your first album? What was the songwriting and recording process like? What brands of instruments did you use?
I was very uneasy with the ideal of releasing an album as I didn't make Noirsuaire for this. I was fine with releasing demo tapes and Noirsuaire could have lived this way until its end. After releasing “The Wrath Of The Silent Temples”, I had a week with a peak of inspiration and wrote three new songs “Trance Of The Bedless Bones”, “The Dragging Poison” and “Fogged By The Leaves Of Pestilence”. I wanted to record again the songs “Possessed By A Malignant Lust” and “Enshrouded In Rabid Repugnance” from the first demo and ad them to a possible album and I had the songs “Sworn By Sinister Wisdom” and “Noirsuaire” written plus two other songs which finally were not selected for the album. I started to record thoses songs as I felt it could be a nice idea to finally make an album. I think I started the recording in March 2025 and it lasted to early May Without a single ounce of pressure. I recorded during my free time in my attic, after my daily job or during the week ends. I had a couple of guests that could not do their part so when I had something listenable I sent it to labels.
For this recording, I used BC Rich guitars as I'm totally fond of this brand and I own a dozen of axes. I used a US Mockingbird from the 80's, red one known for being used by Kerry King and Slash, as well as a Japanese Ironbird, red one too. For the bass, I used a Fender Duff McKagan Signature.
3. The album's sound is raw, direct, and very icy, focused on a classic approach to the genre, drawing its roots from the underground traditions of 90s black metal. How would you describe the sound of the new album to someone who hasn't heard it yet? Is there an evolution compared to your previous EPs? What bands or styles influenced you when composing "The Dragging Poison"?
The evolution compared to my previous works is obvious. Riffs and melodies are way better. Sound wise, mixing and mastering being done in a studio the result is more precise, tight and huge.
I'm mostly inspired by the early works of Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Enthroned, Marduk, Nastrond but the bands most people refer to when it comes to compare Noirsuaire music are the ones from the french scene of the 90s like Osculum Infame, Bekhira, Chemin De Haine, Seigneur Voland. But for the less obscure ones, Sargeist, Satanic Warmaster.
4. Your lyrics deal with themes centered on darkness and paganism, such as vampirism or devil worship. Is there a connection between your lyrics and your Pyrenean origins? Has the tradition somehow influenced your songwriting? Is vampirism a recurring theme in black metal lately? Why did you choose to focus on this theme? Do the lyrics adapt to the music, or vice versa?
Most of the time, lyrics are adapted to the song. Pyrenean folklore is not the most dealt subject as I'd like to cover all ancient legends and myths. I have chosen vampirism as it's a subject I have been fascinated with since my childhood. I have fed a strong interest for this concept.
5. You remained true to yourselves throughout the recording process by recording once again in your small studio. Is it essential for you to have complete control over this aspect and not let anyone outside of Noirsuaire interfere? Who is Sébastien Tuvi, who handled the mixing and mastering, and why did you choose to work with him?
Studio? No, just a room in my attic with a computer, a sound card, speakers, guitars and a microphone. Yes I know most musicians would call it a studio as thoses people are so keen on bragging and exagerating a lot.
Recording the album this way is not about being true to something. It's just that I don't see myself going into a professional studio and being forced to record on time. By recording this way, I feel free to record whenever I want without thinking about the others, especially a sound engineer.
Maybe this is the wrong way and a real recording in a studio could be way better but I don't feel able to inflict myself this routine and discipline.
Sébastien is mostly known by the monicker BST and is a highly talented musician who played in numerous quality acts like Aosoth, Aborted, Sotherion and owns a recording studio where the likes of Hell Militia, Antaeus, Mütiilation had their sound graced by his talent.
I'm not a geek when it comes to sound and I didn't want to do some name dropping association. I decided to work with him because he was the perfect one. I'm very impatient to work with him again.
6. David Thiérrée designed the album cover. What does it represent? What message did you hope to convey to the listener? How does it relate to the album's content?
The highly talented David Thierrée was selected because I love his works I discovered in 1999 with Warloghe first album. He's a very good friend and was the one that could visually materialize this album. You can clearly see a reference to Marduk “Glorification” and Kaosritual “Svøpt Morgenrød”
7. The album will be released by Osmose Productions. How did the opportunity to work with Osmose for the album's release come about? What do you think the increased visibility Osmose will bring will mean for the band's future?
Once I had a listenable result I sent it to several labels which had shown some interest for the album already but also to a list of labels I'd be interested to work with. Among the offers I received, the one from Osmose was the best so the deal was sealed within a millisecond. Osmose proposed beyond everything I was looking for when it comes to a label: promotion, visibility, high quality products and increased credibility. I've never been screaming with the pack of hypocrite musicians telling a label is useless and they are self producing their album “because we decided to stay independents” while they were knocking at the doors of record labels for months. But hypocrisy and lying constantly are common traits among musicians as we all know.
This highly increased visibility will definitely help BM fans listen to my music and that's the most important point.
8. If I'm not mistaken, you've been involved with black metal since the late 1990s. How do you think the scene has evolved over these years? How would you describe the impact of social media and digital music?
With the retrograde cloak draping Noirsuaire, you can easily guess I won't be too kind with the current thing . It evolved in many forms, one of them being the exact opposite of its primal essence.
For several years, you have seen hardcore kids wearing Darkthrone, Mayhem, Watain etc shirts praising how Black Metal can be transcending. Some even starting their own BM solo project.
Social media made people become more and more egocentric and make them feel like important people, friends with celebrities etc. When it comes to digital music, it's good for promotion but that's all. I don't see the point of releasing metal music on digital only as it's a music made for fans of physical products.
9. France has always had a very strong extreme metal scene, from the Black Legions of the 1990s to the much more avant-garde black metal sound fused with death metal elements of today. How does a project like yours fit into the current French scene? Do you feel a need to reclaim that rawer, more direct tradition of French black metal from which you draw inspiration?
The most recurrent words about Noirsuaire since its unveiling were “this is the real kind of french black metal we have been used to decades ago but not many are playing today”. This is the best compliment I have ever heard. There's nothing to reclaim. I just perpetrate an old sonic tradition, I do it my way and I'm glad to see people loving it.
10. Despite being a two-piece band, have you considered performing your music live? What circumstances would need to be in place for that to happen?
Noirsuaire is only me as Agravh had to step out of the project for personal reasons. Sometimes I seriously think about it and sometimes I think it would be a bad idea.
If it would happen, it would be with bands I appreciate in a nice place/ venue. But as Noirsuaire is too small and uknown to pretend to thoses conditions, I stay in my attic.
11. How did you get started in music: the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What event in your lives pushed you to want to become musicians?
First albums I got were Iron Maiden “Powerslave” and ACDC “Let There Be Rock” while my first show was ACDC with Sepultura in Bordeaux on the 13th of July 1996. After months of devouring magazines, buying records, because I had succeeded exams my mother bought me the BC Rich I wanted. I still use it to this day.
12. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? What are the most recent albums you've bought?
Well this is not going to be an original answer... I would say “Nordic Metal – A Tribute To Euronymous”, early Darkthrone albums until “Panzerfaust”, Marduk “Heaven Shall Burn” and “Nightwing”, Enthroned “Regie Sathanas”, Dark Funeral “The Secrets Of The Black Arts”.
Recently I grabbed the reissue of Cardinal Sin “Spiteful Intents”, new albums from The Ominous Circle and Trivax. I'm currently waiting to receive the new Funeral album too.
13. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for Noirsuaire's fans, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
Thanks a lot for the opportunity to feature among your pages.
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Mourning Dawn – The Foam Of Despair 29,99 €
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