Review from Aristocrazia Webzine

Posted by Nick Skog on Sunday, November 4, 2012 Under: Album Reviews
From: Aristocrazia Webzine
Published: October 7, 2012
Original Link
*Google translation of Italian review

 The Russians epitimia passed recently on our site, we interviewed them in the expectation that was published the third act of their discography "Faces Of Insanity". The album was released through Hypnotic Dirge Records and contains nine tracks that move in different territories drawing on a view that seems to collimate the feelings expressed over the years by such act Katatonia, Drudkh, Burzum to which you attach a strong influence post-rock . It is therefore a proposal in the balance between ambient and slothful dark, bittersweet melodies and constantly colored by gray and a hood air that becomes more urgent in circumstances where the matrix is black to make his way. This component is mostly represented by the guttural vocal performance of K. that for most of the time is kept well away from retrace paths extremely furrowed as the more classic "barking stabbing" often used to vent end of such sound complexes; certainly the "rooster" acid that is heard at the end of "Jamais Vu" I'm not really crazy. 

One can not speak of novelty and exploration of some kind of border Alternatively, epitimia use weapons now well known starting with a melodic riffing and an imprinting that keep most circumstances a life cycle and once entered in 'perspective that the repetition is not randomly "stretched" it will be possible to better appreciate the changes. 

Chapters called "Epikrisis" take off after the introductory disturbed and depressing "Reminiscentia" the pros and cons of "Faces Of Insanity" are all found within these episodes. On the good side of the scale we find unexpected mood swings to speed up the pace as in "Altered State Of Consciousness", the expansion and the echoes scattered in a vacuum that inexorably swallow "Megalomania", the insidious and "shaking" complain of "Jamais Vu" and "Leucotomy" and the tendency to disperse in the most basic post-rock and contemplative at the same time and on the other we have a structure of the pieces that in some circumstances it basks in its over-emphasize the "concept" through the same solution over and over again and slipped inside a woman's voice as pleasant does not make a difference. So whether you want to give a chance to work or delete it after one pass, you still have to get to the bottom through two other songs. 

With "DS: Shizophrenia" we practice the "stylistic summation" of what epitimia offer, the influences mix and combine in a way that we listen to a track continuously balanced between the one and the other kind while the closure of "Lethe" is a caress that moves the weight in the direction of an end softly and forgetful. 

"Faces Of Insanity" is an album from a mature band, aware of its potential, maybe the sound is not of the most unique and in some circumstances the deja-vu connects him forcibly to other realities more famous diverting attention, it is equally true that in the chaos of production similar objects that are placed on the market this album could carve out a small space, so as mentioned beforehand try to sink in listening and come to the end draw your conclusions. 

Reviewed by: Gabriele S. 

In : Album Reviews 


Tags: epitimia faces of insanity four truths of the noble ones atmospheric post-rock post-metal black metal experimental 

 EPITIMIA - FACES OF INSANITY

Released: July 14, 2012
500 Copies
Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-rock