So near yet so far, certainly that’s the case if you go looking for these shadowy Italians on the Interweb as they have no official presence at all. From what we can deduce they are a trio made up from members past and present of other obscure acts such as Berstot, Chelma and Inverted and according to their label they are “part of the Dolomitic Northern-Italian Black Metal scene, an heritage of acts like Tenebrae in Perpetuum, Beatrik, Lorn, deeply connected to the territory, keeping the black flame burning into isolated lands.” Apart from these facts we are going to have to let the music on this their 2nd full length album do the talking.
Starting with ‘Old Springs of Astral Matter’ some eerie ambience leads in to a melodically thrusting track with thick bass and brutal battery. It’s the essence of cold and clinical blackness and when the vocals shriek in hungrily in the background and the full force hits with windswept fury things really sweep you off your feet. There’s plenty of atmosphere here and the melody is hypnotically persuasive, working well in the midst of the flurry of extremity from the blazingly fast musicianship. There are some overlying clean vocal harmonies coasting along over the top sounding like they are probably orchestrated and these add to the overall feel and mood of the piece. The title track comes next and tightly wraps itself around you, necrotic howls are bloodthirsty and again the melody is thick and the pace is full on. It has taken a fair few listens for this album to get beneath the skin but having done so I am really beginning to enjoy it. Despite the 90’s feel and the obscurity of the act it’s something that is at first sticking to expected rules and sits comfortably within the realm that spawned it. These rules however change with ‘The Weight Of Life’ as the mood lightens from the fury and musically a glistening ‘post black’ vibe takes over. The harmonics are lush and meander away with an occasional off key melody that’s a little unsettling and makes you wonder if the band are doing this on purpose. Vocals are just as indignant and rasp heavily over it all but it’s a little odd compared to what has become before and indeed after it. Although it sticks out the change is not at all unwelcome and it stands out as really good number too.
The full on battering is quick to hone back in after this concludes and ‘The Hidden side Of Mankind’ rabidly tears off once again; feral and furious. Listening to the shorter numbers like ‘The Eyes of the Ancient Trees’ I’m reminded a bit of the pagan might of our own Winterfylleth and Wodensthrone here and everything is tightly arranged and played with a big sense of power bristling through it in a similar fashion. Thundering away to conclusion with ‘The Eternal Light Of Illusion’ Near have certainly made an impact and delivered a solid album that’s well worth seeking out. If you want to do so though be quick as in line with their closeted lack of presence it’s only available on disc limited to 300 copies, never to be repressed again.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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