Opera IX

Sacro Culto

(c)1998 Shiver Records

Review by Neil St.Laurent

Thanks to Shiver Records for the CD

Part of the underground since 1988, "Opera IX" has over the years solidified themselves as one of the premier occult bands. It was in 1993 with the addition of the keyboards that the band first explored what was to become their unique blend of atmosphere and insanity. For this album the keyboardist has been replaced by Lunaris. "Sacro Culto" is even at first reception an overpowering entry into the black scene.

If you've heard too much shrieking in black metal, and have never heard Opera IX before, then the immediate pleasant surprise will be the vocals of Cadaveria; it almost goes without saying that the naturally higher pitch female voice is better suited to doing high pitched vocals than the typical male black vocalist. From the shrieking to the ethereal singing, Cadaveria fits the music of "Sacro Culto" better than anybody could possibly have expected.

The CD itself contains six songs and clocks in at over 70 minutes, and even as the final song comes to a close, the music maintains its appealing black nature. More than simply a collection of guitars and blasting drums, the sound of Opera IX achieves a grandeur of atmospheric dark art. Sequencing together the raging distortion of extreme metal with the quiet plenitude of classical darkness, "Sacro Culto" is an epic journey that taunts and plays with the mind of the listener through a highly emotional sound. Often driven by the keyboards, the atmosphere of Opera IX is dark and cold, yet strangely comforting. Extremely long songs provide an opportunity for the guitars to experiment with extended riffs and long drawn out melodies; the structuring of these immense songs is often unpredictable and tries not to be like anything else out there.

Song 3, "The Naked And The Dance", is the most pleasantly surprising song to ever grace this genre. This first four minutes of this 8 minute song use only non-distorted guitars, clean male chanting (of sorts), and a somewhat tribal drumming, which together produce what most gothic bands could only hope to aspire to.

None of this should put into question the band's position as an extreme act however. There are plenty of devastating blast beats and cacophanous riffs to hold their own with any in the genre, the band simply didn't see the need to be unrelenting in their use. The choice of emotional mastery over simple raw aggression is what will make this album memorable.

Opera IX's "Sacro Culto" does for black metal what Bal-Sagoth's "Starfire Burning..." did for death metal. Not being overly produced, this album offers an alluring atmosphere and should without doubt please anybody who finds it within their grasp.

Opera IX is:
Cadaveria - Vocals
Ossian - Guitars
Flegias - Drums
Vlad - Bass
Lunaris - Keyboards

Available for $16 US from:
Shiver Records
Hans De Wyngaert
Bossepleinstraat 6
3128 Baal
Belgium
Voice/Fax: +32.16.534.943

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