Dolcinian
Penitenthiagite

I embraced this Penitenthiagite like a child. A rather restless child, though…
For those who don’t know, the Dolcinian are from Venice and play a Christian-themed black metal (thus standing out from the usual themes), particularly inspired by the story of Fra’ Dolcino who, during the Inquisition – for criticizing the opulence of the Church and the Pope’s actions (rightly so, but this is not the place for religious digressions) – was tortured and burned together with his wife.
As you can see, nothing at all like the usual silly lyrics typical of black metal (there shouldn't be any churches left in the world given how many they’ve burned, at least in the lyrics!) and they don't even say the word SATAN once... incredible! Half a point more just for this…

Moving on to the album, we have a fairly typical instrumental intro titled Introitus: Gaudeamus Omnes with a Gregorian chant over a thunderous sound (I assure you that listening to it alone in the evening or at night when it's raining outside is truly impressive!). The title track follows. Same thunderstorm, but we are then accompanied by a soothing and slow melody that explodes after the first minute. This is followed by very fierce screaming. Historia Fratris Dulcini Hersiarche, on the other hand, starts off more intense, alternating between aggressive sections and acoustic parts.
The instrumental outro begins with a sinister dripping and maintains a good level for all 4 minutes. The strange choir at the end is shocking…

We are therefore dealing with a fairly original work, although perhaps stylistically influenced by the beautiful (and unrepeatable) Bergtatt by Ulver. The melodies are not pompous and are inspired by Venetian romanticism. The only downside is the mixing. The acoustic and aggressive parts are not well blended, and you can almost hear breaks. Furthermore, the voice seems too isolated. But these Dolcinian are likable.
It's a pity that the mini-CD is sold out at the time of writing this review (only 200 copies). We await the first true album (coming out in 2005), which will surely offer more emotions, hopefully thanks to a better production.

For now, we can only note how the Italian scene is more flourishing than ever and welcome Dolcinian to the tricolor underground panorama.