The Black
Ars Metal Mentis

THE REVIEW

The Black are considered a small legend among Italian heavy metal enthusiasts. This is indeed a special project: the leader Mario Di Donato is a true artist, being a painter of some repute. His paintings, some of which can be admired on the covers of The Black albums, are naive but possess a remarkable visionary power depicting parareligious subjects. Mario Di Donato is, in his own way, a cursed character somewhat akin to Paul Chain. The original choice of singing in Latin gives a particular touch to his musical proposal, although in the prog field, Jacula and Antonius Rex already used this idea. The new album, just released by Black Widow and titled “Ars Metal Mentis,” is further confirmation of The Black's talent: the rhythm is powerful while the guitars are sharp and create sepulchral atmospheres. The singing in Latin gives the whole an esoteric flavor from another time. Sometimes just a few elements are enough to stand out from the chaos of the overcrowded Italian metal scene, and Mario Di Donato's group succeeds in doing so fully. For the occasion, we find a guest appearance by the great Tony Pagliuca from Orme. The first instrumental track, very dark and occult, could have come out of “Tardo Pede In Magiam Versus” by Jacula. Then the explosive sound, a real trademark of The Black, breaks loose, without however falling into formulaic heavy metal. Indeed, their music, unlike many others, as mentioned, is recognizable. Probably their masterpieces are “Reliquiarium” from 1989 and “Infernus, Paradisus et Purgatorium” from 1990, but this “Ars Metal Mentis” also has many arrows in its quiver as we can hear in the mystical title track, the sulfurous “Decameron,” and the explosive “Cerbero.” Available on the Black Widow website: https://blackwidow.it/.