This album gets off to a very heavy yet melodious beginning, and maintains a consistent approach of alternating between heavy and more atmospheric passages, throughout the CD. Metal fans will be most pleased with this effort, I noticed plenty of thrash influences, Testament and King Diamond would be my best guess on the key influences on this French group. I certainly did not sense all that much of a Pink Floyd or even Porcupine Tree flavor in The Black Noodle Project, as claimed in their press release, unless the use of acoustic guitar and keyboards are all that's needed to claim Floyd or PT roots.
No, this is a metal-prog record through and through, with METAL the key word here. Yes, The Black Noodle Project, on Eleonore at least, displays plenty of Prog style, yet still seems rooted mostly on the heavy side of rock. With the dark themes expressed in his lyrics, Jérémie Grima has crafted music that is very melodic, yet has tons of grit and heaviness, sure to please anyone who enjoys a little prog flavor with their metal, as I do. My two favorite tracks are the moody opener "Sorrow", and the third track, "Fear". With Eleonore, the band has also delivered an album that grew on me with each spin, the more I listen to The Black Noodles, the more I noticed pleasant little nuances and details within the music to enjoy. However, Eleonore is not the type of album I find myself with a burning desire to listen to on a weekly basis, for sure their music is a pleasure to hear, but only in a once in a while sort of a way. With so many other metal band around with a similar sound, chances are I will be reaching for a Testament or King Diamond CD over Black Noodle most of the time.
Track Listing:
1 - Sorrow
2 - Hope
3 - Fear
4 - Awareness
5 - Resistance
6 - Escape
7 - Deliverance