Two of Italy’s best post metal acts are brought together for this split album released by Drown Within Records. Dementia Senex and Sedna, a band both based in Cesena, have already made a name for themselves in the recent past with excellent performances: the former with their 2013 ep Heartworm, the latter with last year’s self-titled album, which was considered by most critics to be one of the best albums of 2014. The two tracks featured in the split were both recorded last year, but while Dementia Senex is a new production following last year’s EP, Sedna‘s production dates back to a few weeks before the start of the album’s recording; inevitably, this implies for the former a substantial evolution from what had been produced previously, while for the latter the sound that would later flow into the long-distance work remains firmly in place. Undoubtedly, Dementia Senex denote an anger conveyed in a more direct way, without neglecting the melodic component, in the context of a track like Blue Dusk, which seems to shift the compositional axis towards a less harsh sound, while the approach of Sedna, which is more rooted in a very personal form of black metal mixed with sludge and extensive post-hardcore nuances, even with Red Shift proves to be somehow more enveloping, although being rather contiguous to that of the split companions. In both cases, the handling of the material is of the highest quality in such a way that, perhaps, never before have the two neighbouring bands found themselves so close, even stylistically; in this sense, if one cannot help but notice how the intensity displayed by Sedna is something that is difficult to approach for those who venture into this musical genre. In spite of this, Dementia Senex certainly do not come out of the arduous confrontation diminished, confirming and reinforcing the talents displayed at the time of Heartworm; it should be noted, however, in this regard, that after the release of the split the band had to suffer the defection of vocalist Cristian Franchini and this could momentarily hinder their progression. That said, Deprived is a fine release that brings attention back to two bands destined to bring further lustre to the national metal scene.

2015 – Drown Within Records