The Black
Reliquarium / Infernus, Paradisus et Purgatorium

THE REVIEW

Mario Di Donato is one of the dark and cursed musical figures of our peninsula: his persona is comparable to that of the late Antonio Bartoccetti of Jacula and Antonius Rex (sadly recently deceased) and Paul Chain, the latter known for his past with Death SS, Violet Theater, and his solo albums. Active since the '70s, Di Donato has been part of bands like Unreal Terror and Requiem but is perhaps better known as the leader of the legendary The Black, an influential Doom band that has carved out its own small niche within the genre. The choice to sing in Latin immediately brings to mind Antonius Rex. Now the always commendable Black Widow is reissuing – in a single CD – the first two works of The Black: the legendary “Reliquiarium” from 1989 and “Infernus, Paradisus et Purgatorium” from 1990 originally released by Minotauro. The cover and the booklet feature paintings by Di Donato himself, a sort of cursed artist who, besides playing music, is also a skilled painter with a somewhat naive but evocative style. Due to a curious misprint, the original 12” of “Reliquiarium” was released at 33 rpm instead of 45. This caused a peculiar effect, rendering Di Donato’s voice “demonic” and satanic, worthy of a horror film. For the occasion, both the tracks in the version published at the time and – immediately in sequence – the original ones are made available, where we can finally hear how the original record sounded. The atmospheres are extremely sulfurous and unsettling, slow and charged with demonic pathos with the sharp guitars in the forefront and Di Donato's deep voice to declaim, although personally, I prefer his voice in the mistakenly released version! It’s a demonstration of how something interesting can always emerge from chance or chaos. “Infernus, Paradisus et Purgatorium” is instead centered on the Divine Comedy, which already evokes legendary names from the Italian progressive scene like The Trip of "Caronte" and Metamorfosi of “Inferno,” “Paradiso,” and “Purgatorio.” Musically, we are always in the presence of a doom that is perhaps somewhat weak, occasionally interspersed with Gregorian chants. In any case, we are faced with a necessary revival for which we must thank Black Widow. Available at the Black Widow website: https://blackwidow.it/catalog.php?cat=news.