Spirito Di Pietra (Dusktone)

 “Spirito Di Pietra” is the first and only release at the time of this Italian Black Metal band. Being quite familiarized with the Italian Black Metal scene and having heard Dusktone’s previous releases, I got pretty excited when I knew about this record, and let me tell you my expectations weren’t in vain… Deadman delivers an intense blend of harsh Black Metal with some modern elements thrown in, where the melancholic melodies are interestingly combined with savage structures full of blasting beats and sharpened riffs. The whole musicianship is quite remarkable; the guitars sound is aggressive, blurry and dirty in heavy contrast with the immaculate synthetic drum work, the vocal work is harsh and malignant reminding me of the evil vocalizations of Pest (Gorgoroth, Blood Stained Dusk), and the bass lines are powerful, deep and obscure, which enormously contributes with the album’s profundity and atmospheres, bringing to my mind the excellent work of Skoll at Ulver’s “Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler” and “Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden” albums… The obscure blend of early nineties Scandinavian Black Metal, modern Black Metal, industrialized auras (provided by the programmed drums) and some very slight Post-Rock overtones make of this work an interesting hybridized piece. A somewhat accurate stylistic parameter for this album may be the sound of Obtained Enslavement (“The Shepherd and the Hounds of Hell”) with some of Ulver’s first two Black Metal albums, some slightly Burzum-esque melancholic ambiances and the solid, powerful structures of Secrets Of The Moon… Despite of the innumerable influences and references you can find at this record, what Deadman delivers here is certainly a quite original piece of Black Metal at its finest expression… If you’re looking for some fresh sounding harsh Black Metal, I recommend you to check “Spirito Di Pietra” out; you’ll surely find at this record an interesting an obscure musical experience. (AP)