Noir Désir’s claim to fame is being the only French band that made a name for themselves playing rock. Their albums of the late eighties imposed a new kind of raw punk with edgy riffs (courtesy of lead guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay) and dark poetic lyrics (courtesy of singer Bertrand Cantat). 1992 was the year of their commercial breakthrough with Tostaky, and they got even bigger with the more experimental 2001 album Des Visages Et Des Figures.