'Idiosyncratical Armageddon'

(self released)











MARK: 92/100




 

Never would I have expected an excellent record of technical and brutal Death metal from the Naples suburbs, but sometimes life saves positive surprises for me too. Succeeding the "2 Hymns: Countless Corpses" demo released in 2003, the 4 skilled musicians self-produce their debut MCD, made up by 4 articulate compositions. Imagine an intercross of the latest Pestilence, the most wicked Cynic and a dose of Natron, especially as for the dry, raw snare drum sounds in the fast Thrashing rhythmics.

The core of the band resides in guitarist Odium, an imaginative and experienced axeman that could make any guitar happy of being played by him; and I'm not referring only to the solos or the riffs, this guy has a natural talent to join different structures without ruining the collective feeling and avoiding decreasing the climax.

This is a record that needs several listens to be fully appreciated, not because of the recording, fairly good and balanced to be a low budget one (yes, you will hear the great bass lines as well, 'cos the Campanian guys aren't pussies and have nothing to hide!); but because it doesn't exploit usual paths and the drummer often tries to embrace some odd patterns that may initially sound out of place once in a while. Don't misunderstand me! The songs are not chaotic or badly-constructed at all, in this ocean of fierceness there's even place for stunning blood-chilling melodic breaks, such as the ones before the solo in "Hfg"; the thing is that "Idiosyncratical Armageddon" is not a standard Techno-Death metal album, and consequently requires constant deep attention, which repays the listener at the end of the playing.

The music is fundamentally Death metal, but the track "Centuries of Me" is on the contrary a bit different, including several trills typical of Black metal, melted with the ones characteristics of the band. A further mention goes to Hypersang, a singer that can interpret diverse emotions ranging from guttural to adrenalinic battle-like vocals, reaching screaming demonic tones without apparent difficulty; and whispered menacious vocals aren't missing either. He's also smarter than many colleagues thanks to the philosophycal and metaphysical concepts he perfectly expressed within this EP, suitable for a genre like this, not gory and not excessively atmospherical. As an ex-singer myself I virtually shake his hand and bow to the other 3 members.

At this point we are willing to hear what the new material will be like, hoping that indifference, oblivion or, worse, flying bullets deriving from a camorra street shooting do not occasionally involve any of the members. Don't forget they come from Europe's all time most dangerous, criminal and meanest city. It is really a miracle that in such conditions they have been able to achieve such elevated levels. I rarely say that but this time it's fully deserved: support the Italian scene when it's worthy, for fuck's sake! We wanna hear more from Nalvage!



MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th June 2006
















Line-up on this record:
Hypersang - v.
Remenis, g.
Amaral, b.
Luca, d.


Contacts:
Acerra (NA) - Italy
E-mail:
info@nalvage.net
Official sites:
www.nalvage.net
myspace.com/nalvage


Demo-/Disco-graphy:
-2 Hymns: Countless Corpses (demo - 2003)
-Idiosyncratical Armageddon (MCD - 2005)