Progressive metal five-piece Novelists have released Noir, only the second full length from the ambitious French band.

Each chapter in the album represents a different stage of mourning: sadness, anger, acceptance and reconstruction.

Bass guitarist Nicolas Delestrade, who also produced the album with drummer Amael Durand, says they figured out their direction as production went along.

“Every chapter has a different emotion, we wanted it to be almost as if we were writing four different EPs and putting them together,” Nicolas says.

“We just started mixing the record thinking lets pick different drum sounds for the different parts, so a different snare sound in each chapter and the slow songs have a very different drum sound.

The lineup is rounded out with Matt Gelsomino (vocals) and Charly Kelevra (guitar); the two brothers, Amael and Florestan Durand, write all the songs.

The first and last chapters were written by Florestan, which Nicholas says is why they are more focused on the guitars, the second and third sections were written by Amael

“We decided not to do the typical one drum sound/one guitar tone on the whole album, we wanted each chapter to have its own tone and mixing,” Nicolas says.

“On the next record, we want to push it further: what we did on this album per chapter, we want to do it per each song on the next record.”

Australian metalcore acts Make Them Suffer and Cursed Earth will be joining them on their Worlds Apart tour in Europe.

Nicholas says they are excited to tour with the emerging Make Them Suffer and hopes building a bond with the two Australian bands will help bring Novelists over in the future.

“We never listened to them (Make Them Suffer) until they released a single last year called “Ether” and we’ve been massive fans of this single and now of the new album.”

“It couldn’t have been a better time frame because if we had toured with them last year, we wouldn’t have known the band.”

“We might not have cared as much then, but right now we know what they’re doing and love the new album.”

The new album Noir is out now and can be ordered here.