Unholy Black Metal
  • Gallery
  • Contact

Dawn of a Dark Age’s “Water” does not flow smooth and carefree, but it is indeed harsh and interesting

4/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
We had already dealt with Dawn of a Dark Age, an experimental duo from Southern Italy, when we introduced the first chapter (Earth) of their behemoth saga project about the “Six Elements” (Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Spirit, with the addition of a mysterious sixth element) that make up the planet and its inhabitants. The second act of the opera comes with surprising timeliness exactly six months after the debut and changes rather dramatically the scenery.

As the breed of the band, and especially of the leader and poly-instrumentalist Vittorio “Eurynomos” Sabelli, is mainly jazz and classical, we might have expected a gradual detachment from the belligerent, although classy black metal we could find in the Earth album.

Sax, clarinets and several jazzy elements, capable of shattering any inflexibly traditional black metal foundation, were already present on Earth. Water roots even deeper in the avant-garde spirit of the duo (here strengthened by the contribution of violinist P-Kast). In the process of reviewing Earth, I remember quoting Penderecki and Shining to draw some references to the peculiar use Eurynomos makes of these non-metal instruments. The outcome on this second chapter is  at times contradictory, and it took me more than one listen to finally grasp the cohesion between some of the parts. Instead of flowing smooth and carefree like a placid river, the music seems to willingly remark the harshness of its own contrasts, jumping and clopping like a bumpy mountain stream.  

Dawn of a Dark Age’s openness in the way of experimental songwriting is total and also includes folkloristic Mediterranean elements, proper of the band member’s culture, for example in “Otzuni (The Black City in Apulia)”, or  “The Verrin’s Source (On Mount Field)”. “The Old Path of Water (Where You Rot Slowly)”, chosen as the first single and video, is where the jazzy disrupture most significantly comes in. Here is where you’ll most probably realize that, though such elements sound brusque and neat, they are, in fact, as much interesting as the authentic “black” parts – if not more. The odd songwriting seems to work on some purely esthetic level, which is actually quite rapturous.

We can forecast that, in the future issuings, Eurynomos and Buran will push even further the pedal of genre-trespassing, which might steer their music away from what we call black metal, but is certainly a positive invitation to think musically without obsolete borders.

Notes:
The Six Elements, Vol.2 Water was self-released on January 1, 2015.

Tracklist:
1. Intro / The Gates of Hell (In the Deepest Dark Abyss)
2. Otzuni (The Black City in Apulia)
3. The Old Path of Water (Where You Rot Slowly)
4. The Verrin’s Source (On MountField)
5. Mouettes a midi sur la Mer Adriatique
6. Outro n.2


05:44
07:35
06:09
07:56
02:56
05:40
36:00
Personnel:
Buran: Vocals
P-Kast: Violin, Viola
Eurynomos: all other instruments

Text by Arianna
arianna@unholyblackmetal.com

  Pageviews:

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Unholy Black Metal zine