Infernal Poetry
Beholding The Umpure

Original and crazy seem like the right adjectives to define Infernal Poetry. Ah, and let's not forget to mention that they are Italian, putting to shame those who think only abroad can good metal be made! I had the great pleasure of discovering this band indirectly, finding a funny article on the web, which I recommend reading, written by the guitarist Daniele Galassi with the self-explanatory title "10 Reasons to Start Playing and 1000 to Stop" (basically about how difficult it is to form a band and maybe even have the insane intention of becoming successful... I know something about it unfortunately!).

But without digressing, let me proceed to review their second and for now latest work "Beholding the Umpure": trying to recognize a more specific genre than the definition "metal" in their musical proposition is damn difficult but, in the opinion of the writer, it represents their true strength. In fact, the numerous influences of the musicians (particularly the guitarists) are immediately noticeable, as they deftly move from death, to black, to heavy and thrash, creating completely unpredictable tracks; in short, you never know what to expect after a riff! This aspect could be a hurdle for those who have a hard time digesting deliberately contorted and strange melodies, not to mention the vocalist who, through effects, sighs, and various sounds, contributes significantly to giving this sense of... madness to the album (the clearest example of what I'm, with difficulty, trying to explain is found in the fifth track "Insane Vein Invading Inner Spaces", listen to believe...). Black (symphonic) influences can be glimpsed, for example, in the evocative "The Frozen Claws Of Winter", but the point is that within each track appear riffs from different schools, making it difficult to make a precise classification of each piece. It's a mess, in short! The classical solos are very well integrated into the mix and at times (for example at the beginning of "The Umpurifier") it felt like listening to the fantastic classical melodies remade with the keyboard found in the movie "A Clockwork Orange." The album closes more than worthily with a cover of "Fear Of The Dark" by the glorious Maiden, but redone in the style of the band, and the result is excellent.

In conclusion, what to say... I made an excellent purchase almost blindly, wanting to trust a domestic band for once (I know, I'm somewhat xenophilic myself, but I'm trying to get out of it, I promise!). To those who love metal in general like me, I highly recommend it; those who might be more closed off and stick to a single metallic genre might not like it, but I still urge them to discover this truly promising young band. And strange without a doubt. Okay, let's say original, otherwise "strange" sounds like an insult...