Melodic black metal from Italy. Aedera Obscura brings their highly entertaining but certainly not exceptional form of metal to the masses. What they do, they do well but it is music that you have heard before with nothing really unique. Vocalist Alessio Cremonesi has a menacing growl but sounds like a thousand others in this genre. If there is anything that makes them stand out it has to be the keyboard work of chief songwriter Eric Facchinetti. The swirling wash of his keyboards are a dynamic backdrop to most of the songs on here. I would also have to add that the drum sound on this album are atrocious at times. They sound as if they were recorded in an echo chamber and are a real distraction instead of an enhancement.
The music varies from the extremely heavy to the very melodic and most times a combination of both. A good example is "Black Eve's Drama" which starts out with a mosh pit worthy dense metal sound but evolves with the help of some terrific piano interludes into a very melodic piece.
Occasionally they use clean vocals to offset Alessio's constant growl as in my favorite of the album "A Sunless Sky" or the closer "Lost". I think this is some of their best work as the heaviness of the growling vocals and massive guitar are offset by the clean vocals and tantalizing keyboards. This isn't a new idea and one you have most certainly have heard before as with most of this disc. They just seem to make this style work best for them.
I cannot find any serious faults with any of this disc other than the lack of originality. It is a highly enjoyable album but I can say that about hundreds in the genre. Give it a listen and decide for yourself. It will not hurt and you might just find something to your liking.
Track listing:
1. My Murmurous Mind
2. Beyond The Sands Of Time
3. The Tree And The Robe
4. Hanging Your Heart
5. The Greenish Horse
6. A Sunless Sky
7. NYX
8. Black Eve's Drama
9. Arcania Coelestia
10. Lost
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