When I am not working or lazing around, my favourite thing to do is go fell walking in the Lake District. The Lakeland Fells are equally suited to vast power metal epicness and grim, windswept black metal. I take a lot of photos, and most look like they should be some kind of black metal album cover, except in colour. The reason for my digression into hobbies is ‘Abisso’, the debut offering from Italy’s Chiral. I first became aware of them through Sixsixsix Music’s excellent Helvete compilation, and if there was one band from that who truly suited the vast, cold beauty of the Lake District, it is them.
Opening with some rolling thunder to set the mood, ‘Atto I: Disceso Nel Buio’ leads with grandiose strings and a rising, mesmerising riff. Decidedly measured, weaving a more subtle melancholy than bands who go instantly for the jugular, it eventually settles into a mournful tremolo riff and a menacing rumble of double bass. Essentially an intro, but laying out a clear blueprint for what lays ahead, disrupting expectations from the get go.
‘Atto I: Oblio’ is more conventional, blasting ferociously with a raw, icy riff and throat shredding vocals. It then drops into acoustic guitar and the difference is shocking. Gone is the violence, the blackness, the hatred, to be replaced with lush acoustics that bring to mind Opeth’s softer moments. It accentuates the fury with which Chiral approach their black metal side. ‘Atto II: Abisso’ I reviewed in my Helvete review, but it deserves another mention here, as it is a true centrepiece. A majestic enmeshing of delicate acoustic moments with all out darkness that captures what it means to be a black metal band in this day and age. Not afraid to experiment while also staying true to the tenets that spawned all this in the first place.
Finishing with the introspective ‘Atto II: In Assenza’, Chiral have crafted an excellent release here that any black metal fan worth their studs should check out. Equal parts raw darkness and mournful beauty, ‘Abisso’ is, simply put, stunning.
The Killchain 