The new album My Body, My Time represents the new stage in evolutions of the band. The stylistic choice made by the band entails a certain degree of courage, as the post black metal territory is vast, and the risk of getting lost is always impending. In a way, this is what has happened to the Latium band who have lost a bit of straightforwardness. I think one should find a balance between straightforwardness and experimentation, and in the case of Hornwood Fell the scales tip too much towards the experimentation.
It has to be said that the Italian band, even in the early days, have never been a pure raw black metal band, on the contrary they have always been in search of personal elements, so their stylistic evolution does not surprise me in a way. I also have to say, though, that the performance of singer Marco Basili, which ranges from clean dark vocals in the manner November to more aggressive screams, is not convincing and contributes to a generally not exciting impression.
The effort is surely remarkable on the whole, so if you like black metal with some kind of experimentation, listen to this album.
Notes:
My Body, My Time was released on November 7 2017 through Avantgarde Music.
Personnel:
Andrea Basili: drums
Marco Basili: guitars, bass, vocals
Text by Herjann
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