Streben
Wild Enchanted Gardens

And what if at this moment I wasn't sitting in front of the keyboard to write a review? What if instead, I were looking for some new Black Metal album to buy blindly? I would find myself with dozens and dozens of albums in front of my eyes, perhaps all new names, never heard of, and I would have to choose by feeling, by instinct, I would have to buy something that piques my interest for the simple fact of visual and imaginary sensations. If I found myself in a similar situation, I think I would buy "Wild Enchanted Gardens" by Streben, because it's an album that you only need to look at to understand that beneath its notes lie great emotions, maybe it's the extreme elegance of the cover, maybe it's that mysterious and melancholic title that somewhat evokes "The Secret Garden," maybe it's that blonde little girl curiously walking in a meadow... I'm not quite sure what it is, but one thing is certain; Streben have an enviable visual Background.

But who are these Streben? Anyone who has delved into the underground Italian Black Metal scene in recent years has surely heard of them, and for those who haven't, I'll provide some context: Streben hail from an ancient and evocative land, known as Sardinia, a region most known for its crystal-clear waters, trendy locales, and perhaps even for certain criminal news associated with certain areas of the hinterland. Yet Sardinia is much more than all this; it is a land with many isolated and unspoiled places far from the masses, a land where the night is truly dark, and people hold very ancient traditions within them. It is in such a land that Streben originate, a duo of musicians named Cristina Hagalaz (vocals, bass, keyboards) and Valker (electric guitars), along with some guests who collaborated in the studio for the recording of drums and acoustic guitars.

Having made these lengthy, albeit necessary, premises, we can begin to talk about the Black Metal proposed by the Sardinian combo: it is a marriage between long acoustic compositions where piano and clean guitars intertwine with distorted, melancholic, and epic flavors, despite the sound of the six strings being rough and icy. Songs like "Embrace of Nostalgia" and "Soul Poetry" are perfect examples of this. Streben's strength lies precisely in this perfectly calibrated mix that, on one side of the coin, looks to the past of the genre with typically Norwegian Black riffs while, on the other side, experiments and plays with post-rock sounds (at a time when this genre mixed with Black wasn't as trendy as it is now) and Progressive Rock. In this album, Cristina indulges herself behind the instruments with great compositional freedom and adopts multiple vocal timbres that range from a tremendously evocative spoken voice to deadly Cradle of Filth-like screams that might make most listeners frown, as a scream of such a high pitch can often be even annoying for those who do not appreciate performances of this type. However, I am a particularly demanding listener, and as such, when I review a work, I tend to look for the hair in the egg, and even in Streben's work, I found it; unfortunately, the production does not live up to the splendid musical proposal. Granted, it is above the average of many much more famous records of the genre, but a better quality sound would certainly have been beneficial.

"Wild Enchanted Gardens" remains a highly recommended album for anyone who wants to listen to Black Metal that dissociates itself from the rules of the genre. There are flaws, of course, but it remains an album with great attention to detail, an enviable background, and a cut above much of what the Black scene offers.

NB: For all the curiosity and information enthusiasts, I'd like to inform you that the album artwork was curated by Markus Baltes of Autumnblaze, and the little girl seen on the cover is none other than his daughter.