I think that even the most ardent detractors of the genre will agree that, if black metal must be, it must be played and offered as Cult Of Erinyes did with this third full length entitled Tiberivs. The Belgian band is the author of a form of the genre that does not distort the coordinates but, if anything, amplifies and enhances the salient features, so the sound is pervaded at the same time of a dark and solemn aura that makes the work stand out from the many releases of these times. Our, to leave no stone unturned, are surrounded by several guests who provide their contribution to the success of the album, among which you can not help but notice the name of Déhà (drums, keyboards and guitar), whose presence is a kind of sentinel event capable of determining a priori the goodness of an album, although in this case the compositional responsibility is all the competence of the excellent Corvus. The nine tracks offered in Tiberivs do not leave a single moment of respite, soaked as they are of a constant tension that runs on the edge of sounds that certainly draw on the best part of the Scandinavian school, but exhibiting obvious traces of a personal reinterpretation and great competence. All the protagonists of the album are expressed to the best of their potential, each bringing its own fundamental contribution to its success, starting from Mastema, who, in addition to having created the concept that draws sap from the history of ancient Rome and one of its most controversial emperors, reveals corrosive vocalist with a tone often bordering on growl, bringing the sound closer to the major bands that use this solution, first of all the Dark Funeral; it should be added that the vocalist has interrupted after the release of the album his long association with Corvus, which has run to the remedies replacing him, as best he could not, with the same Déhà. The album is quite long for the habits of black but its intensity eliminates the root of this problem, making it a product to be enjoyed with due attention, given the presence of more than one passage of an ambient nature scattered in the various tracks. Cult Of Erinyes can slow down the sound to the limits of doom, keep on mid tempo or unload their vehemence at a much more sustained pace, but this always happens with great fluidity, and often within the same songs, making it even more compelling a sound that also makes use of excellent guitar solos. No weak point, just a violence always under control and a melodic taste that, although compressed by the extreme attitude, suddenly blossoms with solo interventions of the guitar that also embellish the two best tracks of the album, Casus Belli and Germanicvs, just superior to the rest of a tracklist that doesn’t disappoint in any of its junctures. One of the best black albums of this year, at least according to my personal tastes.

2017 – Code666 Records / Caverna Abismal Records