Oracolo Suicida

Profezia is a duo featuring Kvasir from (among other bands) Abhor and Ynleborgaz from (also among other bands) Angantyr, Make a Change… Kill Yourself, Blodarv, etc). This makes it an international project; Italian-Danish, to be precise, and while that might not normally be worth remarking on it seems relevant when talking about this quite strange album. It is uneven, and seems to be going for different things at different times. It’s as if the band is caught between the spooky theatrics of Abhor (a band that I like, though not one that is widely celebrated) and harder-edged second wave stuff. Actually, looking at my notes, I’m not even sure that Ynleborgaz played on this specific recording so perhaps everything I’ve just said is bullshit- but whatever.

The defining characteristic on Oracolo Suicida is the violin, which constitutes a real centrepiece to the sound. It really adds something distinctive to the album’s best moments. In particular, I’m thinking of the title track where it screeches out these anguished glissandos that give the song a tense, stressful feel. Coming first in the track listing, it was this that hooked me in and wanted to review the album. But, that said, it is nine minutes long, and it maybe reflects the album as a whole that the interest is not really sustained. To put it bluntly, too much of this tune is meandering melodeath without much bite.

Hence, as noted, a patchy album, and one which is perhaps best when things are kept short. See for example Futuro Rivelato, which feels deeply hostile, with its shrieking strings which bring to mind the climax of the classic soundtrack of The Shining. And, in a completely different vein, the suddenly jolly, Viking-like energy on Il Gioco del Parassita. Other times, times, the same problems as with the first track kick in: stretches of relatively indistinct meloblack which is overly reliant on the violin to give it character. By no means an essential album but one with some undeniably strong moments.