Two full-lengths in thirteen years is a slow release rate for any band, and these Italians have certainly kept their output to a minimum, releasing only an EP and a split between this and their debut, ebYm, in 2001. More post-rock than black metal, Asofy occupy a curiously niche spot in the genre, focused on atmosphere and melody but with enough of a dark, blackened influence to make Percezione (‘perception’) firmly of the underground. Much of the darkness comes from the vocals, which intermittently rasp and rant over the top of the otherwise pleasant music dementedly, giving the music a curiously dreamlike vibe. It’s all somewhat like a minimalist Cult of Luna piece, with the drums often the most violent element relative to the other instruments, which seem content generally to wander, focusing for periods and then fading back into the general soundscape.

Oddly reflective in tone and engrossing in effect, Asofy taking the four-long-songs route means that this really is an album for the patient, those willing to sit and allow the band to create a soundscape around them. Although there are differences between the tracks, it takes a couple of listens to really notice. And they’re only small differences; Ombra is a little groovier, the closing Oscurita is more hesitant and mournful. Personally, the vocals detract from the atmosphere for me, and the album would do better without them at all - yet this does seem to be an album that will say different things to different listeners. Often at its best when in moments of calm, Percezione won’t appeal to all black metallers, but those with an interest in the more leftfield, experimental wing of the genre will find Asofy’s music oddly fascinating.