Noir Kid

Despair. Hatred. Negativity. Purity. Seriousness. War. Satan. If any of these things are a must for your black metal, feel free to pass on this now. This album isn’t for you.

If you have an open mind to something a little different, and are okay with finding a sense of euphoria beneath the usual hatred and darkness, Noir Kid might make you feel something.

Violet Cold is a one-man project out of Azerbaijan that produces what solo-member Emin calls an “experimental AI simulated music project”. While that description might be a little exaggerated, what he actually produces is limitless and positive black metal. He draws from anything and everything he wants to fit into this expression, from standard atmoblack passages, to house beats, pop vocals, and folk instrumentation. It’s quite a ride for the uninitiated, and Noir Kid puts these ideas on a full, yet generally well-restrained force.

It’s not quite as crazy or random as things may sound, as Emin (mostly) seamlessly blends these aspects into his atmospheric backdrop. Beginning with the opening title track “Noir Kid”, we’re built up with a synth-backed post-rock introduction that explodes into a beautiful slow melody. Emin’s powerful screams echo over an acoustic lick against crashing drums and crushing guitars. A clean vocal passage soon follows, entangling in the bright atmosphere and drawing you further in. But you might’ve noticed the “mostly” listed above in the seamlessness. Because after a short transition, we’re literally thrown into a hardstyle beat. Am I bothered though? No, not really. It’s fun. And if you can get that out of it, you’re in for a good ride.

Moving forward, we get heavy loads of uplifting black metal that wouldn’t sound unlike a U2 collaboration. “Synergy” introduces pop vocalizations interspaced between soaring and blast-beaten passages. These are further toyed with on “Battle Unicorn” with a heavier synth melody, while “Euphoria” combines all these influences through a stronger post-rock groundedness. Violet Cold ends Noir Kid on a more aggressive and fast-paced note, utilizing more typical black metal riffing through “Synced to Darkness” and “Gezellig”, without entirely sacrificing its joyful nature. It’s a fitting ending and remains a reminder that this is still, at its core, kind of a black metal record.

Emin’s vocals are surprisingly imposing throughout, even if their usage is limited to whenever he just wants to throw them in. Performances are strong if not a little imperfect at times. Production quality is well-balanced for a self-produced album, although the mix can sometimes overwhelm the lower melodies meant to stand out in certain moments.

Reading through my writing here, I’m not sure if this even sounds like a great album. But it is, and I adore this album. It’s fun, it’s memorable, it’s slightly imperfect, but it’s an uplifting ride that I never want to stop experiencing. This is Violet Cold at their best, and this is the type of unrestricted expression that makes good art what it should be: experimental, distinctive, probably a little subjective, and beautiful.