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AMPHYTHALAMUS HORRORISBORGIAFeretro Records CDI've decided to write this review to pay homage to this band, since I've just learned that they've decided to break up and pursue their own ways, leaving the name Borgia with three demos and one full-length. However, unlike many who ended up this way, Borgia has proven over a very short time that they were teeming with pure potential and notable creativity, which will hopefully be continued in other bands, as I'd truly hate to see all that potential just fade away. Perhaps prophetically, Eduardo from Feretro Records decided to give two of the band's three demos the chance to make their debut on factory-pressed, professionally-made CD release in August this year. They'd only been previously available in tape format in very limited quantities, usually sold (given out?) at the band's very scarce live shows; it continues to strike me as bewildering that bands I'd deem nothing less than legendary have trouble setting up live shows in France, let alone smaller, unknown bands, in a scene that seems to have exploded in the last five years, at least from an outsider's point of view. That was perhaps one of the factors in the band's dissolution. But back to the release in question. This release shares its name with the “Amphythalamus Horroris” demo from 2007, and with good reason, since the five songs featured there are the main five songs you'll get to hear on this release as well. If compared to the material on their debut full-length “Ecclesia”, the songs come across as stylistically similar, swinging somewhere between death and black metal, but this time, they're faster and more direct – in fact, unlike the full-length, where you could really feel that the band gave room for their arrangements to breathe fully, this demo really feels like a well-conceived EP. The intro and outro are there (nothing too pompous, mind you) and the songs themselves are well-structured in terms of the number and complexity of the riffs. The magic of Borgia is contained within the layers of death metal guitars which create, however, an unmistakably black metal atmosphere – the band tries to depict and conjure the spirit we'd perceive as medieval today, and by that I don't mean early-Satyricon-renaissance-fair atmosphere, but the haunting images of the filth, the dirt, the Black Death, the ignorance, Inquisition, everything commonly associated with the Dark Ages. Although the quality of the demo is remarkable from start to end, “Sangre Limpia” is a song that really stands out with its contagious riffs and clean vocals near the end of the track that work perfectly well within the context (which often isn't the case on many releases). These guys could've taught Ensiferum and other currently trendy bands what epic is all about. Speaking of which, the vocalist has no trouble doing songs in French, Latin, or even Spanish, as in this song, for instance, and not only are the lyrics thought through, poetic and very serious all-around, but the mixture of different languages has actually turned out well for once (I'm looking at you, Belphegor). Another important feat is the production quality, which adds to the overall “professional” feeling of this recording – it may not be completely up to par with the standards set by their full-length, but it's still better than 95% of demos I've come across over the years, and which are usually garage recordings made in a few days at best. The bonus tracks comprise the three tracks off an older demo, “Mandragore” from 2006. Both production and songwriting quality are a tiny step down from “Amphythalamus Horroris”, although the main features of the band's sound remain intact. The songs are a bit longer and in fact more akin to the compositional features of “Ecclesia” than the other demo here, which may or may not have been intentional, but it certainly provides yet another interesting insight into the band's development. It would therefore be rather difficult to draw a straight line of progression across these releases chronologically. All in all, this is truly a high-quality compilation, and one that's actually worth having for the music, and not for the kvlt. Don't get me wrong, my poseur self also has a copy of “Fuck Me Jesus” just for the cover art, but it's always good to see good quality compilations of otherwise unavailable material. Add to that a nice coloured booklet with all the lyrics (for the language-savvy), and you truly have one well-rounded release. And even if I will sound excessively biased and unprofessional, I owe it to the now-defunct genius of this band – this CD is limited to 500 copies and is unlikely to be re-pressed, but is as of this moment still available from Feretro directly for a mere 9€, shipping worldwide included. Get yourself a treat, you won't regret it. Vladimir Gojkovic (9) |
PUBLISHED ISSUESMETAL SOUND #mpu vorbereitung |
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