Spite Extreme Wing
Vltra

After three albums that left their mark on Italian Black Metal, in 2008, Argento and his band signed a magnificent sonic testament titled “Vltra,” the final step in the journey of Spite Extreme Wing, who chose to abandon the music scene after leaving for posterity an album that marks the highest moment of their career and of the tricolor Black Metal in general.

Argento, when it comes to stylistic choices, has always been a fan of natural reverbs and all sorts of sophisticated sounds, and even in “Vltra,” his “search for the right sound” was no less. This time, the overall sound of the album is oriented towards purely seventies tones  achieved thanks to the equipment used during the recordings, in particular: a Roland Space Echo Re-201 drum machine from 1973 (no triggers were applied to it), a Mellotron M-400 from 1971, used for keyboard recordings, and a 1969 Orange OR 120 guitar head.  I find it curious to discuss such classic sounds concerning a Black Metal band, but when talking about Spite Extreme Wing, everything takes another form, everything is outside any stylistic scheme, and everything takes on a tremendously coherent aspect.

“Vltra” is a splendid journey through ten thrilling tracks, ten beautifully composed gems that tell of travels, war and love, remoteness and wisdom of hostile territories and homeland. It is precisely in the dreamy lyrics that the band’s main strength lies, words in Italian, clearly inspired by Hellenic mythology, reveal a visionary way in which distance from the homeland is the keystone that unlocks the entire concept of the album. It would be impossible to understand an album like this in sections, listening to a track here and one there, “Vltra” is like a novel,  it must be read from start to finish without skipping a line, only in this way can it be understood, it is not a simple album, it is a complex, controversial album, it does not follow a straight line, but goes to delineate a puzzle in which each piece is essential for an overall vision. Spite Extreme Wing in this album dare and indulge, they include Sardinian tenor chants in the intro, reinterpret “Devillock” by Misfits, compose a track like “VII” inspired by “The Wedding of Philology and Mercury” by Maurizio Capella in which they wander into purely progressive sounds to then burst into a devastating fury and finally as a concluding track cover “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles with Herr Moribd of Forgotte Tomb on vocals, who has long demonstrated a marked aptitude for Rock classics. In short, “Vltra” is an album at the highest levels, not for daring in itself, but for the simple fact that all this is coherent in outlining a single profile, all this builds the aforementioned puzzle perfectly.

This album is a masterpiece, spending more words would be superfluous.

 “And I, while admiring the harmony of the spheres, turned my gaze from time to time to the earth” [MARCVS TVLLIVS CICERO]