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.
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
Buran: Vocals
P-Kast: Violin, Viola
Eurynomos: all other instruments
Text by Arianna
arianna@unholyblackmetal.com
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