black metal
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Ever since the latest direction in black metal, I've been wondering what would happen if you record the present day trend, the one with post-rock/metal influences, with the vintage, haunted sound of nineties equipment. What would it sound like when Darkthrone and Aluk Todolo teamed up or when Bathory got locked up in a studio with Altar Of Plagues? One possible outcome might be this Movimento d’Avanguardia Ermetico album. It's quite a stunning piece of extreme music, complex, bleak and intense.
Movimento d’Avanguardia Ermetico hail from Italy and have been around since 2005. Today, the band seems confident enough to find their own little niche in the world of black metal, honoring the tradition while also looking to the present and the future. They decided to record the album with nineties equipment in order to capture that atmosphere. That now proves to be an excellent decision, which will please a wide, be it extreme, audience.
'La Caduta' is no mere intro, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. In stead of an orchestral passage, this song immediately presents the guitars and drums. In a way you can compare this to song-reprises at the end of a movie soundtrack. Yet, is succeeds quite well in making the listener curious about the rest of the music. 'Risonanza Originaria Del Tremendo' then blasts off, opening all registers and goes all-out with the blast beats and the screaming guitars.
From then on we're immersed in an hypnotic array of riffs, blasts and furious screams that reminds me a bit of Wiegedood, another brilliant and renewing black metal band that we appreciate a lot. Even if the tempo goes down, like it does for several passages on 'La Cresta Verso Grauhaupt', these Italians never let go of the intensity and the piercing sound. In fact, this song breathes the sentiment of solicitude and distress even better than the previous song, not only in the well-varied vocals but also in the instrumental passages.
Apart from the short opener, we're dealing with huge anthems here, ten to sixteen minutes long. To keep that interesting, you need either a lot of variation or a highly convincing style. Having both, like Movimento d’Avanguardia Ermetico does, is even better. 'Sorge La Stele E l'Enigma' presents both perfectly by becoming a highly creative blend of influences and musical eras. But then again, so does the entire album. It's a massive piece of work, something these Italians can be proud of.
Serge
Movimento d’Avanguardia Ermetico hail from Italy and have been around since 2005. Today, the band seems confident enough to find their own little niche in the world of black metal, honoring the tradition while also looking to the present and the future. They decided to record the album with nineties equipment in order to capture that atmosphere. That now proves to be an excellent decision, which will please a wide, be it extreme, audience.
'La Caduta' is no mere intro, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. In stead of an orchestral passage, this song immediately presents the guitars and drums. In a way you can compare this to song-reprises at the end of a movie soundtrack. Yet, is succeeds quite well in making the listener curious about the rest of the music. 'Risonanza Originaria Del Tremendo' then blasts off, opening all registers and goes all-out with the blast beats and the screaming guitars.
From then on we're immersed in an hypnotic array of riffs, blasts and furious screams that reminds me a bit of Wiegedood, another brilliant and renewing black metal band that we appreciate a lot. Even if the tempo goes down, like it does for several passages on 'La Cresta Verso Grauhaupt', these Italians never let go of the intensity and the piercing sound. In fact, this song breathes the sentiment of solicitude and distress even better than the previous song, not only in the well-varied vocals but also in the instrumental passages.
Apart from the short opener, we're dealing with huge anthems here, ten to sixteen minutes long. To keep that interesting, you need either a lot of variation or a highly convincing style. Having both, like Movimento d’Avanguardia Ermetico does, is even better. 'Sorge La Stele E l'Enigma' presents both perfectly by becoming a highly creative blend of influences and musical eras. But then again, so does the entire album. It's a massive piece of work, something these Italians can be proud of.
Serge
