The Italian act Malombra is for me an unknown band. The band was named after the well-known book Malombra by Antonio Fogazzaro. Which seems to be a romantic masterpiece, full of dark and decadent nuances. So far the band has released the albums Malombra (1993), Our Lady Of The Bones (1996) and The Dissolution Age (2001). Albums which did not get to the BM HQ for a review. So I don't know how they sound. However the band's latest release T.R.E.S. (released March 2023) got on my desk for a review. The album title T.R.E.S seemed to refer to Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum and to the symbology of the number 3.The music on this new release isn't new at all. Primary recordings were made in 1997-1998 by the original line-up, but the album left unreleased since then. So the recordings were actually made after the release of their second album Our Lady Of The Bones. Now finally T.R.E.S. sees the light of day thanks to the guitarist Matteo Ricci and singer Renato Carpaneto (born Mercy). They finished the recording for the album with the current line-up. Which consist of Matteo Ricci (bass, Mellotron, vocoder, guitar, Fabio Cuomo (drums, keyboards), Giulio Gaietto (drums, synthesizer (4) and Mercy (vocals). I have to be honest it wasn't easy to write a review after hearing the album completely. Because I know the music on this album isn't suitable for everybody. Most reviewers would put it off right away after hearing the first track Astarte Syriaca. Heavy kind of music sounding very chaotic at first hearing. Therefore I decided to give it a try myself to tell our readers what you can find on T.R.E.S. music wise. In a few words it is easy to describe what's on this first album released in their native Italian language. It is dark, progressive, gothic, hard rock, space rock, heavy-doom and psychedelic music. Above all it is all about the occult. The things that can't see the daylight. If I would compare it to other acts, which isn't easy at all, I would say that bands such as Fields Of The Nephilim, Il Segno Del Comando, Candlemass, Black Widow, Danzig and Devil Doll come to mind. If you are not afraid of the occult and like your music very dark with influences taken from musical styles such as progressive, gothic, hard rock, space rock, heavy-doom and psychedelic music T.R.E.S.might be suitable to play on your CD-player all the way. The earlier mentioned bands might give a hint what to expect music wise. I would say try it for yourself just as I wasn't afraid to discover something new! You might even like it! *** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
