Mortiis, Il Segno del Comando, Freddy Delirio And The Phantoms
Mortiis, Il Segno del Comando, Freddy Delirio And The Phantoms

This release by Black Widow is truly a unique album: it is a split between different artists such as the legendary Mortiis, Il Segno del Comando, and Freddy Delirio and the Phantoms. On the first side, we find four tracks by Mortiis. The project of the Norwegian musician (former member of the black metal band Emperor) remains one of the cornerstones of the dark ambient and death-industrial sound of the Cold Meat Industry school from the early '90s. Regarding The Smell Of Rain, the album by Mortiis, the Norwegian musician explains how "These songs were created shortly after completing the music for Stargate between late 1997 and early 1998. I was disillusioned by the musical direction and even the sound, what later became known as Era 1, so I made the decision to explore other musical directions, to not self-destruct as an artist. These songs eventually led me down the path of the tracks that later became part of the album “Smell of Rain”. In this sense, it could be said that the demo versions of this album, as raw as they are, are the missing link between Era 1 and everything that came after." The material presented is very interesting and I believe Mortiis fans should listen to them even if the sound quality is what you can expect from demos.

On the second side, titled I'm Beginning To See The Darkness, we find two tracks by Il Segno del Comando by Diego Banchero and one by Freddy Delirio and the Phantoms. The tracks by Il Segno del Comando, “Divinatio Ambigua” and “Architettura dell'apostolato”, were written during the first period of the lockdown and fit perfectly into the dark symphonic prog-metal mood of this album. The first is a highly evocative instrumental that connects back to the glory of the group’s first legendary album, paying homage to the dark-prog sounds of Goblin and Jacula. The second follows the same line and reminded me of the atmospheres of YS by Balletto di Bronzo. In short, I do not deny that, as a fan of the group, I listened to these tracks by Il Segno del Comando with great interest. The long composition by Freddy Delirio and the Phantoms ventures into new territories not far from prog-metal.

As disparate as it may seem, this CD contains absolutely remarkable musical ideas from different groups that share a common attitude towards creating dark atmospheres.