Italian Metal

Alex Nunziati – Il Mangiatore di Peccati Review

Alex Nunziati – Il Mangiatore di Peccati Review

“After forming and performing with Italy’s Theatres des Vampires for many years, Nunziati left to pursue other avenues. The most famous of these was his gothic, symphonic black metal spin-off, Lord Vampyr. With a gnarly rasp that brings to mind the mighty Cadaveria from her stint with Opera IX, Nunziati carved a name for himself alongside compatriots of his defunct Shadowsreign. But Nunziati hasn’t stopped there—preferring to keep himself busy with other creations and contributions, like Cain, Hermeticum, Iamthemonster, and Malamorte. And now, as if Nunziati can’t help but continue creating new ventures to quench his creative thirst, he brings us a debut record under his own name.” Circus of freakshows.

Nova Luna – Nova Vita Review

Nova Luna – Nova Vita Review

“”Prog metal” is a weird label. At times, it feels almost like a catch-all for music that isn’t quite rock and isn’t quite metal. At others, it feels like a way for bands and fans alike to tout minor stylistic differences between one group and the next closest thing. And other times, prog metal is weird. So it’s kind of a gamble, opting to review music under this moniker, as was the case when I first spun Nova Vita, the debut full-length from Italian prog metallers Nova Luna.” Super Nova?

Assumption – Hadean Tides Review

Assumption – Hadean Tides Review

“A band’s name can make or break them. Regardless if you’re a blues band reaching for ominously foreboding atmospheres, or a power metal band named after a cute, furry rodent who loves clay baths, whatever you name yourself lends as much, if not more, importance as your music. So when I happened across Hadean Tides, the second full-length from Italy’s Assumption, I assumed from their “death/doom” labeling and their band name that this was going to be some early My Dying Bride worship of the highest caliber, complete with weepy violins and flowers withering. But you know what your parents said about why you should never assume…” Speculation and doomination.

Master Boot Record – Personal Computer Review

Master Boot Record – Personal Computer Review

“For the three of you who haven’t yet encountered me gushing about Master Boot Record, here’s the summary. Decreasingly anonymous Italian musician Victor Love, inspired by classic 16-bit video game soundtracks and the harsh sound of a floppy drive stepper motor, synthesizes heavy metal. Despite sounding like a one-album novelty, Personal Computer is MBR’s eighth full-length in seven years and they’re signed to Metal Blade.” Boots and scans.

Trick or Treat – Creepy Symphonies Review

Trick or Treat – Creepy Symphonies Review

“Even though I have pigeonholed myself as the album art guy around here, when I’m selecting promos, I actually don’t often select an album based on the art. I usually go by one of three methods: completely blind (either random or letting a colleague select), selecting straight from the list (where the only information I have is artist, title, genre and label), or cherry picking (where I listen to singles until I find something I think I’ll like). Trick or Treat is an exception, because just look at this goofy-ass cartoon cover! Either this will be stupid enough to work, like Nanowar of Steel, or it’ll be too stupid to work, like most power metal. So which one is it?” Symphonies of slickness.

Di’Aul – Abracamacabra Review

Di’Aul – Abracamacabra Review

“When it comes to the types of metal we cover on this site, it’s rare to find bands openly drawing from grunge, even though it was the dominant rock style of the 90s. Bluesy hard rock and prog from the 70s, 80s guitar heroics; scroll through the reviews on our homepage and you’ll find a band or five still mining those veins. Sure, there’s sludge, grunge’s fugly big brother, but love that genre as I do, it rarely trips the dormant teenage Cherd nostalgia centers of my brain that flare up when something 90s alt rock radio adjacent passes over my earballs. Di’Aul, on the other hand, crashes into the ol’ cortex like an atomic elbow off the top rope.” Alice in pains.

Sartori – Dragon’s Fire Review

Sartori – Dragon’s Fire Review

“Though you’ve probably never heard of Sartori, you’ve definitely heard them before. Sartori neither revels in the murk of dissonant death metal, wallows in the wail of languishing post-metal, nor abstracts musical reality with a blackened avant-garde offering. Instead, in his namesake band, Andy Anderson Sartori uses his scooped six-string powers to provide straightforward, rollicking neoclassical shred, following the tradition of many other Yngwie-inspired shredders (who also dress a little like him).” Shreddy dragon balls.

Gunjack – The Third Impact Review

Gunjack – The Third Impact Review

“You’ve heard of rock ‘n’ roll. You’ve heard of black ‘n’ roll. You’ve heard of death ‘n’ roll. But, have you ever heard of drunk ‘n’ roll? Sure you have. If you’ve heard Motörhead, then you know exactly what to expect from a band that says they play drunk ‘n’ roll. It’s the kind of music every party deserves. The kind of music to whip your cock out to and blackout on hobowine filled with shards of broken swords. That’s the kind of “roll” Gunjack plays.” Ride the drunk train to the hobo yard.

Hellfox – The Call Review

Hellfox – The Call Review

“As I promised in my list post, I’m once more attempting to pick up the writing habit I successfully maintained for the first half of last year. Alas, this does mean venturing into the notoriously barren January promo box. Worse, I was late and my colleagues had nabbed everything promising. My first selection turned out to be a C-tier early-00s darkwave band so far removed from both metal and good music that even I wouldn’t cover it here. Think Collide, but very boring. Fortunately, I did a bit more due diligence on my second attempt. Hellfox, are certainly metal, describing themselves as alt-metal with a melodeath lean.” Hellfox in the groan room.