(((O))) Review: Apnea – Stasi

The press release for Stasi from “cinematic sludge act” Apnea had a lot of hooks which reeled me in. Firstly the band is from the bustling Italian scene, secondly the multi-label release involved the incredible UK label Trepanation Recordings, and finally the list of similar artists includes three of my all time favourites: Isis, Cult of Luna and Fall of Efrafa. The results are three huge tracks of d-beat and sludgy post-metal which dredge in the dark and heavy end of the genre.

There is more than enough here to show originality, but it is also hard to escape some comparisons to those aforementioned bands. The build up and d-beat explosion at the beginning of ‘Resina’ really harks back to the latter days of Fall of Eferfa whilst the the glacial post-metal in ‘Cul-De-Sac’ hints towards Cult of Luna, but at no point does it feel like a tribute release. The use of distinctive dual vocals gives a great dimension to the songs and can even give it a post-hardcore feel especially in ‘Resina’. The guitars are heavy yet uplifting and the ending of ‘Under Oath’ has moments of down tuned positive chords ringing through the anguished vocals.

The atmosphere on the EP is beautifully dark with the contradiction of upbeat instrumentation but tortured screams which are well executed and sit excellently on the sludgy post-metal. This is certainly earth shaking if not ground-breaking but there is enough individuality to make Apnea a band to watch out for.