Mater Suspiria Vision
Second Coming

When the witch-house movement emerged from the musical undergrowth just a few years ago, heavily contested as some even refused to define it as a musical genre, already in decline due to repetitive and exhausted ideas and imaginaries, only a few artists from this category managed to stand out from the influx of groups and solo artists that began to sprout like mushrooms and destined to disappear after a few EPs.

Some achieved great international and commercial success, like the talented Crystal Castles, although too eclectic to be classified in this controversial genre, or others, like Salem, managed to get recognized simply thanks to good music and hype. 

And then there are Mater Suspiria Vision, who are so clever in their attempt to attract attention that they managed to make a name for themselves and gather a large following of admirers. We speak of cleverness because, in this project, the music is nothing more than an optional. Because the group understands that in this sick era, it's not so much about the music you produce but how you produce it. Hence, the splendid video clips as long as death itself, visionary and video-artistic, that immediately become cult: colors, shadows, paganism like it's raining, dark attitude, beautiful girls, fruits, damnation. And hence, ultra-limited edition records (sometimes only 10 copies) at crazy prices, with cardboard covers and personalized, vivid colors. All very beautiful, okay. But what about the music?

Well, the music comes later. Because, at times, it even seems impossible to say it exists. Nothing to do with the quality and inspiration of the aforementioned Crystal Castles or Salem, nor with the disenchanted passion of minor groups like White Ring, Bathaus, Dark Mother and so on. The music of Mater Suspiria Vision is a big question mark. 

You cannot say if it's beautiful or terrible. Because, perhaps due to their visionary spirit, I wouldn't even categorize them among the embarrassing artists in the genre (and there are many, to name one I would say the tedious (((O))) with his simplistic and elementary satanism), because they know how to stand out and because, after all, they know how to captivate the listener.

But how do they do it? It’s simple: with "melodies" pulled by the ears, very long, very slow, borderline drone with occasional samples of ave marias (!) like in "eXorcism of the hippies" (yes, only the x is capitalized), synth loops or powerful drum machines. Sometimes, I believe even intentionally, they verge on kitsch, on the dated ("Foreign Affair"), while other times they deliver actual pranks (the cover of Lady Gaga’s "Paparazzi" which is nothing else than the original version slowed down to the extreme, and it’s extremely trashy).

Although fascinating for five minutes, the music of Mater Suspiria Vision soon becomes hot air: they do nothing but repeat the same drone and the same drum machine beat for seven or eight minutes, adding some threatening female vocals or some cheap horror-movie effects that seem pretty cool. 

I already find it difficult to complete listening to a single song, let alone an entire album. "Second Coming" is a bluff record that doesn’t work as a headphone or stereo listen, but only (and I mean only) as accompaniment to the videos that the same group meticulously produces. It’s no longer about music, therefore, but about video art. So why not leave it at that?

Why pass off these repetitive and nerve-wracking atmospheres as musical tracks instead of soundtracks? 

This somewhat annoys me. Okay with the imaginary, okay with the visions, okay with the quotes and love for Dario Argento, okay with the video clips, okay with the beautiful women that you place on covers, but is that really enough to win over so many fans who have been following them for years in their entirely identical albums, convinced they are listening to avant-garde music and certain they are gloomy and hopeless dark beings? 

I told you they were clever. Very clever.