Sometimes black metal can sound heavy and powerful yet highly predictable to the point of giving off a mistaken impression of minimalism. Such is the case with the French debutants Sombre Héritage and their album "Alpha Ursae Minori" which is neither terrible nor particularly engaging with "Lord" Molag-Venn (vocals), Maxime "Exu" Michaud (vocals, guitars, bass) and Vincent "Silencer" Trépanier (drums) presenting 6 decent compositions in just under 37 minutes. Three revolutions are enough to realize that while the music is good Sombre Héritage brings nothing new to the black metal table.

Now, the album is filled with good riffs, even hooks, such as the one in the title track, which is basically sped up as a tremelo for the illusion of variety. The closer "Ténèbres" is an exercise in self-indulgence, as lengthy as it is tedious and uneventful. The Cradle Of Filth-y "Déchéance" is much more interesting, but my favorite is the slow yet varied "Nature Souillée" which shows the most potential. Overall, though, these guys seem to be too much into the atmospheric ballad-ic Hypocrisy with nowhere near as interesting ideas for riffs and hooks as Alf Peter Tägtgren’s.

At the risk of discouraging these guys, which is hardly my intention: there’s potential and semblance of originality among a few cool riffs and melodies, but the major problem with "Alpha Ursae Minori" is that it’s just a standard fare black metal incapable of changing my life for better or worse.

https://sombreheritage.bandcamp.com/