Anomalie is an Austrian solo project in circulation since 2011 with already three well-received full lengths to its credit: this new release is a fairly full-bodied ep, however, as it presents four tracks for just under half an hour of music. The atmospheric black offered by Christian “Marrok” Brauch, who is accompanied by the excellent drummer Lukas Schlintl, is undoubtedly of good quality, maintaining that austere Mittel-European trend to which Markus Stock provides his ideal imprimatur in the recording studio. All these elements go to make up a convincing and varied compositional framework, even in its mostly obscure face that never departs from its stylistic matrix, and opening up to those post nuances that are in any case less accentuated than in other bands, without renouncing a balanced melodic component that is well inserted in the context. In this sense, listening to the last track Deliverance proves to be decidedly emblematic, in virtue of a progression that ranges with great ease between the various sources of inspiration, while maintaining a sound that is always compact and effective. Despite being an ep, Integra is amply worth a complete album in terms of quality, reinforcing the reputation of the name Anomalie to which, perhaps, some more attention should be devoted in the future.

2018 – AOP Records