Album Reviews : Sokrovenno – De Rerum Natura

Sokrovenno have been playing black metal since 2005, and De Rerum Natura (“About The Nature Of Things”) is their debut full length release. This Italian quartet have, for our listening pleasure, given us something quite unique in the black metal circles. In fact to label this album (or this band) as purely black metal does them no justice at all. This is a beautiful, mesmerising musical experience that refuses to conform to traditional black metal clichés, as the band says, “with the aim to free the weak from the fear of a deterministic world.”

There are minimal blast beats (read none) though out this album, rather choosing a more progressive black metal sound, which few bands have managed to pull off with any credibility. Each song begins with a short acoustic atmospheric piece, each independent from the song set to follow, but at the same time an integral part of the makeup of this album. It would have been nice to have some of these concepts incorporated into the actual songs instead of being used as simply intros and outros, but it is a debut release after all I hear myself say.

The twin tremolo picking guitar attack and black metal rasp vocals are brilliant, as are the drums, but it’s the fascinating and intriguing  melodic bass lines and complex song structures that make this album stand out . “Flammantia Moenia Mundi” is a prime example, incorporating elements of contemporary progressive metal with classic black metal sounds. The only annoying aspect of this album is that it’s in Italian, which may not be a big deal for some. However, you get the feeling with this album that comprehensible lyrics (i.e. translated) would take you deeper into that three dimensional space that Sokrovenno have created with this release.

This is an exceptionally well crafted album that seamlessly crosses a number of musical boundaries, and I challenge you to only listen to De Rerum Natura once. The production and mix is well above average with this release, with nothing over powering anything else. With such a quality debut, we can only assume that Sokrovenno will have many more releases to offer us, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Band: Sokrovenno
Album: De Rerum Natura
Year: 2009
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Origin: Italy
Label: Bleak Art Records
http://www.myspace.com/bandsokrovenno

Track listing:
1. Brina
2. Ineuente Hieme
3. I
4. Flammantia Moenia Mundi
5. II
6. Fragore
7. III
8. Sulla Mortalita Dell’Anima
9. IV
10. Vestigia Pressa Bisulcis
11. In Ricordo