Opera IX
Sacro Culto
[Shiver]
Opera IX are an exceptional band, a black hole of metal emotions that catch your attention immediately. Partially due to the improved production, and of course the development in Cadaveria's vocals, I was quickly sucked into this CD. At over seventy minutes, that's rather demanding, but they pull it off with flair and metal perfection!
Impossible to cleanly describe, unfair to categorize, the long-time Italian horde have come up with an original, and most importantly, satisfying recording. Everything here is improved: from the lyrics to the vocals, from the music to the production. And since "The Call of the Wood" was an exceptional album to start with, you can only imagine what this is like.
Cadaveria most importantly uses a great deal of variation in her vocals now. She cleanly sings, chants, and speaks softly. Her roars are still the most important aspect of the music though, and quite literally have improved ten fold, possessing more than enough depth to make one's ears instantly perk up. So many bands would overnight become excellent if they had vocalists with such power and harshness.
The music, of course, is excellent. Twelve-minute tracks with nearly unlimited variation are hard to come by, yet can be found six times over here! Ranging from ripping black brutality, to folk style atmosphere, to sheer doom, "Sacro Culto" has it all. Impossible to cleanly describe is an understatement, as it's all too difficult to review. I can only recommend it, and hope that you find as much in it as I have.
© 2000 brand
Impossible to cleanly describe, unfair to categorize, the long-time Italian horde have come up with an original, and most importantly, satisfying recording. Everything here is improved: from the lyrics to the vocals, from the music to the production. And since "The Call of the Wood" was an exceptional album to start with, you can only imagine what this is like.
Cadaveria most importantly uses a great deal of variation in her vocals now. She cleanly sings, chants, and speaks softly. Her roars are still the most important aspect of the music though, and quite literally have improved ten fold, possessing more than enough depth to make one's ears instantly perk up. So many bands would overnight become excellent if they had vocalists with such power and harshness.
The music, of course, is excellent. Twelve-minute tracks with nearly unlimited variation are hard to come by, yet can be found six times over here! Ranging from ripping black brutality, to folk style atmosphere, to sheer doom, "Sacro Culto" has it all. Impossible to cleanly describe is an understatement, as it's all too difficult to review. I can only recommend it, and hope that you find as much in it as I have.
© 2000 brand