Intra Spelaeum are yet another band, coming from the endless Russian lands, fascinated by the darkest side of doom. In front of the objective difficulty in proposing in this area something that, in addition to being engaging from the compositional point of view, contains some element of peculiarity, ours give to their sound a particular aura certainly characterized by their origin, regardless of the use of Cyrillic graphics and mother tongue at the lyrical level.
More than in other occasions, in fact, a Russian band dedicated to a genre with extreme traits seems to draw sap from the important musical tradition of their country, and so, both the solemnity of certain orchestrations and the inclusion of a strong folk component enrich a work that winds without showing particular phases of tiredness. As said, despite the Latin moniker, Intra Spelaeum opt for an autarchic choice of language and, inevitably, all this makes the fruition more complex, but if we limit ourselves to what the music tells us, we can’t help but be involved in this short hour full of contrasts and passages full of the right pathos. If the base of the sound is a strong melodic death doom of northern European style, the excellent keyboard work sews and softens the impact, enhancing the poignancy of songs like Veter, Volna and the very long Dom; moreover the work closes with the cover of In A Dream, a historical song by Tiamat, rendered in a rather respectful way of the seminal Swedish band, even if slightly slowed down. Zabyto Davno is undoubtedly an album that every death doom fan should listen to: the Russian trio exhibits a solid preparation giving an interpretation of the genre always varied and effective.

2015 – Soundage Productions