Blaze of Sorrow - Absentia (2020)

Constantly evolving and refining their sound over the years, today we have Italy’s Blaze of Sorrow and their latest Atmospheric Black Metal opus: “Absentia”. Featuring seven songs and nearly 45 minutes of lush music, the band shows how their sound continues to improve with intricately crafted songs that are both pummeling and melodic. With similarities to bands like Fen, Agalloch, Saor, this outfit has marked their own path of blended melody and aggressiveness.

The album opens with the folky “Settimo Requiem”, a song that features a lively mood with creative tempo changes and a very epic feeling. The band’s ability to swing from ravaging Black Metal onslaughts to melodic interludes is amazing as it allows them to completely re-shape the direction of songs with these transitions as the pulverizing “Furia” demonstrates.

Our favorite part of the release is the emotionally charged “Sonno d'eterno” and its rawness, and the magical way it transitions into the lush and crafty “Notturna”, a more somber, jazzy, and even somewhat improvisational piece. While the band has enough space for more experimental and melodic passages, their core is quite heavy and punishing as tracks like “Hybris” and its killer guitar leads, and the shapeshifting “Cupio dissolvi” with its Post-Black Metal edge.

Closing the release with the folky “Morte di un immortale” we are left quite excited about the prospect of reliving this whole journey - over and over again. Blaze of Sorrow always continues to amaze us with their mastery of their craft and their unique abilities to feature a core sound while greatly exploring within their album. Music should not be static and we applaud releases like “Absentia” that push in all directions while staying true to their core influences.

Label: Eisenwald

Release: April 24th, 2020

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Italy