I think the last album I reviewed which didn’t contain any guitars was Van Canto. But this heavy brass trio consisting of trumpeter Paolo Raineri, trombonist Francesco Bucci and drummer Beppe Mondini are only playing original songs, so there’s no feeling of them doing a reasonable facsimile of a song you already know well. All the dissonance you expect from distorted guitars are here, as is the quiet unease they manage to put into the music, to give it an actual metal edge.
Formed nearly a decade ago, they open their fourth album with “Late Bronze Age Collapse” where we find out exactly how heavy the brass instruments can be, but also how mesmerizingly melodic at the same time, all the while the steady tempo keeps you entranced as it increases in power. This song also features Shane Embury on synth which is the rest of the wall of sound thrown at you.
Alternating between moody and melodic, and brash and aggressive “Sons Of Darkness Against Sons Of Shit” has the trumpet as the focal point as the rumble of the trombone is driven home by the frantic kick drum as it works its way to its crescendo.
Slow and torturous, “Men Kill, Children Die” has the constant drone of the trombone punctuated by the trumpet either shrieking through or just adding some melodic elements to the 10-minute opus, while the drums keep time with massive cymbal crashes to add an even more sombre touch to proceedings.
“Teruwah” on the other hand is a far faster more furious affair, with an allegro feel to the upbeat, up-tempo drumming as the brass instruments somehow remind me of a manic section is a noir sci-fi epic where for some reason a jazzy section is used to provide the required mood.
Even more bubbly is “Battle Of Qadesh”, but that could be owing to the trombone intro as the drums build up and the trumpet kicks things into gear. There are also some vocals, courtesy of Lili Refrain, which are both eerie and majestic in equal measure. Go look for the video, as it adds a visual element to this aural delight.
If I didn’t know better, I’d just assume that “Slaughter Of The Slains” opens with guitarists mucking about on their pedals to get as many weird sounds out of the things as possible, add to that the ever increasing tempo until it spills over into what could be a blast beat, then a bit of manic restraint before some screaming and screeching work their way into the song.
The album ends with the song “Seven”, where the repetitive refrain of going through the scales has the drums building from gentle to rather boisterous before wrapping up and fading out on a long-drawn-out note.
Definitely something unique and not bad at all, as there’s never any feeling of monotony in what’s being done here.
(8/10 Marco Gaminara)
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