Authors of two previous albums, Italy’s Absentia Lunae (AL for this review) have been haunting the black metal scene since 2002. Album number three, ‘Vorwarts’ – apparently meaning “forward, never look back” – is my introduction to the band. Where the press release initially helped me make sense of where these guys are coming from with the above definition and comparisons with Mayhem, the rest of what it describes proved a little less easy to follow. Here are a couple of excerpts: “Absentia Lunae new mission starts where the father of avantgarde black metal failed… the Futurism, raised from Italy becomes today a source of inspiration and reaction to the lack of arrogance and pretension of today’s scene.” I’m still stumped. But coming into this I had it on good authority that AL are musically great. And so it proved…
‘Dissolution Mechanism’ gets the album underway with martial drums and riffs pouring out in unison. A few daunting guitar notes chip in until we get into the flow. And once we do, we are confronted with dominating vocals which throw commands over guitars and drums as they march beneath. Actually it’s like a lecture being delivered to the sound of black metal, which, as a consequence, necessarily lends itself to Maniac-era Mayhem comparisons. In contrast to the Norwegians however, who often sound at risk of flying out of control, AL’s outbursts appear wholly under control within a framework of sophisticated, premeditated black metal. While the Maniac comparisons expand in ‘Furor of the Monuments’ as pronouncements are reeled off with an air of detached pomposity, the music reveals more layers to this band’s vision. Initially constructed with epic, granite riffs, things soon turn nasty with spiralling ones and blast-beats. Despite the cold, vast musical walls we find ourselves trapped within, AL manages to inject a ton of atmosphere.
As revealed in the first couple of tracks, the range of Ildanach’s vocalisation is varied indeed – one minute bleak and evil, the next orating – and this sense only expands as we head further into the album. Equally impressive though is the way in which the musicians evoke varying degrees of oppression. The two elements combined are inescapable. In ‘Rapace Planare’ we are attacked at full pelt before being subjected to a nightmarish see-sawing section which, you may have guessed, leads straight back into a cauldron of hate. What you might not expect is the closing section in which the narrator’s singing seductively beckons us along with it, dreamy guitars simultaneously hovering around our bewitched visages. In contrast, ‘Manipulated Statues of Flesh’ is nothing but a descent into battle – merciless grinding riffs and malicious vocals urging us imperiously forward. ‘Vorwarts’ itself proves to be the magnum opus of the disc. Barging into existence, the eight-minute track goes on to reveal multiple gripping layers of darkness and intrigue.
The closing track ‘L’arrivée’, just to add something new and grand, incorporates elements of industrial and sci-fi as intense whispers emanate over layers of drumming and distant orchestral backing. Ignorant of the Italian language I can only assume that these words mark the victory of AL’s bold, Futurist mission. As convoluted as the band’s statement of intent is in a philosophical (or at least linguistic) sense, the music on ‘Vorwarts’ is a great success. Variously immense, cold, alienating and subjugating, the album is at the same time alluring; seducing the listener into the process of being chewed up and spat out. It’s an odd experience – unlike much I’ve heard before – with the various faces contributing to one goal: absolute domination.
(8.5/10 Jamie)
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