By: Rich Buley
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Released on September 16, 2015 via Drown Within Records
Following the release of their debut album Beckoning Light We Will Set Ourselves On Fire in 2014, which included a quite startling version of Massive Attack’s ‘Angel’, black metal sextet POSTVORTA, from Ravenna, Italy, returned last month with sophomore effort Ægeria.
According to Roman mythology, Postvorta was the goddess of the past, but Ægeria herself was more concerned with birth and healing, and the sound conjured here is entirely of the here and now, with the band certainly taking cues from the likes of Isis, Neurosis and Pelican, but contorting and distorting their mighty riffs into a more progressive, often freeform sounding whole, which ultimately provides an undeniably challenging, but ultimately rewarding listen.
There is certainly no time for settling in- ‘Amnios’ positively explodes into life, with the three guitarists in the band immediately providing a towering roar for singer Nicola Donà to deliver a tortured and semi-demonised vocal. I have no idea what he is singing about, but it is bound to be either terrifying or heart-breaking- it definitely sounds like it. There are plenty of riffs in the opening to this one, as the band provides a powerful and uplifting accompaniment to Donà’s verbalised suffering. Respite is provided on a couple of occasions during the track’s thirteen minute outing, as things are broken down briefly before firing up again, and it is with this escalation that the dynamic provided by three separate guitarists really comes into its own, and the potential for crossover into the textured sonics of post rock, or even the outer reaches of blackened shoegaze, and bands like Alcest and Deafheaven, is first noticed. ‘Corion’ begins sedately with single chords and restrained percussion, and Donà’s slightly more discernible vocals, but we do know what’s coming, and the voraciousness of the guitar noise that arrives at the two minute mark is brilliantly accentuated by this initial calm. The track is progressive and partly experimental, with a brief sojourn into twinkling guitar passage and distant, hissing static, before that torrent of blistering distortion arrives again, and the band builds, with Donà’s help, to a dark and satisfying conclusion.
‘Uterus’ displays an equally appealing, softer side to POSTVORTA, with simple, delicate keys and an elegant bassline setting the scene, depicting the calm and beauty of the unborn child in their mother’s womb. Then, inevitably, the maelstrom arrives, the simultaneous chaos and wonder of birth, which the band represents expertly with a soaring, stately crescendo. Closer ‘Placenta’ playfully book-ends itself with hammer blast beats and guttural ferment, whilst in the middle displays a wonderfully constructed exercise in intelligent, multi-faceted black metal.
Ægeria will see POSTVORTA further enhancing their status as a rising force in the world of post and black metal, but the ornate and instrumental ‘Uterus’, and the hints at a diversified melodic expression displayed elsewhere, mean POSTVORTA’s next step will be a very interesting one. Potentially, while Nicola Donà’s vocal style and content will undoubtedly play a big part in the tone and themes of the band, the song-writing skill and developing musicianship on show here will also certainly provide POSTVORTA with future opportunities to expand their sonic palette into new and increasingly complex territories, which I for one will be excited to hear.
