A little less than two years ago I came across the debut EP of this intriguing one man band called Phobonoid. Those 20 minutes of black metal with industrial connotations made guess but not yet explode the full potential that the musician Lord Phobos from Trentino showed to have. This first full length self-titled, however, definitely unhinges any doubt investing us with a perfect storm of cosmic metal, dramatic and apocalyptic. If the concept is still focused on stories that see as a scenario the largest of the two moons of Mars, the sound has evolved, as I personally had hoped, on the coordinates that had already been highlighted in the final part of the ep Orbita. If at the time I had launched into a comparison with an avant-garde band like Blut Aus Nord, on this occasion the cosmic breath and the sense of doom that arise from the sounds of the album always keep beyond the Alps any terms of comparison, even if, this time, the name to mention are Monolithe: it is clear, here the basis is not the funeral doom but the same is the sense of loss in front of events that see as a theater space whose limits are well beyond our human understanding. Fuga Nel Vuoto, La Risonanza Della Sonda, Kairos, the concluding title track and the resounding Frammenti Di Luce are the most significant episodes of an ensemble that annihilates in its slower pace and does not leave room for melodic cues that would not suit the apocalyptic events that are described in music. As in the previous work, the voice remains in the background, almost an instrument among instruments, accentuating the alienating impact of sounds that leave no way out. Phobonoid is an excellent album, maybe not really within the reach of all ears, but certainly those who appreciate sounds like those mentioned should make their own without particular hesitation.

2015 – Dusktone