The Foreshadowing
Seven Heads Ten Horns
Cyclone Empire
2016
Maybe I could be getting a little bit too saturated with listening to “gloomy” catatonic stuff lately, not by choice, but for review purposes, so these Italians’ fourth attempt didn’t quite “connect” with me immediately in the heart of the summer, but upon further inspection and further spins, I found myself quite enjoying quite a few tracks on the album musically… ie “Fall of Heroes”, “Two Horizons”, “17”, “Martyrdom”, as well as the five part “Nimrod”, which spans over 15 minutes.
What I could not really get into however, no matter how much I tried was Marco Benvento’s vocals that sound like a new wave meets goth “baritone”, which doesn’t always work in relation to the melodies in the background… at least to my ears… still some might find him adequate and it’s not for lack of trying I think it comes down to personal taste. I think his vocals work only on certain occasions and not across the entire album, which also marks the recording debut of Giuseppe Orlando on drums (ex-Novembre).
Fans of “Katatonia, Anathema, Paradise Lost (their “transitional” era), Novembre etc. will probably dig this and I would not hold them at fault… as it ticks all necessary boxes to do so.
What I could not really get into however, no matter how much I tried was Marco Benvento’s vocals that sound like a new wave meets goth “baritone”, which doesn’t always work in relation to the melodies in the background… at least to my ears… still some might find him adequate and it’s not for lack of trying I think it comes down to personal taste. I think his vocals work only on certain occasions and not across the entire album, which also marks the recording debut of Giuseppe Orlando on drums (ex-Novembre).
Fans of “Katatonia, Anathema, Paradise Lost (their “transitional” era), Novembre etc. will probably dig this and I would not hold them at fault… as it ticks all necessary boxes to do so.