Weltschmerz
Capitale De La Douleur

The red that dresses this authentic jewel of Italic craftsmanship is not the reassuring red of the evening, meant as a moment of calm and rest, where one finds oneself. The chromatic shades that best define this red are more akin to the color of rust, conceived as a symbol of the progressive disintegration that our world is, inexorably, heading towards.

The tone that envelops Capitale De La Douleur is the captivating color of rose petals, now withered. In this work, with its solemn atmospheres, the decline of what we inhabit and have always known, of what we are, is proclaimed. The somber hue of this red represents an oppressive state of mind: the world's weariness, marked by the sinister sound of our chains, which we continue to drag behind us like restless specters, oblivious of what we once were and at the mercy of a futile future.

I imagine, not coincidentally, that this work was released in 2002, at the dawn of a new millennium. Thus, I recall some verses from ''Maha Pralaha'': ''Electrum draconya/Resting Under/Electrum draconya/The shadows of a passing world''. It now seems appropriate to clarify that Maha Pralaha is, according to Hindu belief, the time that begins with the death of Brahma, the creator being. Weltschmerz, the world's pain, is the void that summons the nothingness from which it is born, condemning to indifference those who experience such cosmic pain. This unhealthy picture is surrounded by prejudice and the allusive provocation of malice.

The knights of the apocalypse who bestow upon the dying world the eidetic splendor of this masterpiece are: Nothing, Prejudice, Malice, Indifference, Desire. The same Nothing, alias Anthony Duman, is also found in Caanan, as in the early works of Monumentum. In Capitale De La Douleur, his deep voice is accompanied by the virtuosity of Desire and the guitars of Mauro Berchi, here hidden under the identity of Prejudice, also a member of the excellent Canaan.

The incisive opening verses of ''Leurs Yeux Toujours Purs'' by Paul Eluard (''Capitale De La Douleur'') and the poignant lyrics of Quasimodo (''Colore Di Pioggia E Di Ferro'') give voice to the refined sounds, mainly goth rock, but also darkwave, that characterize this second work of Weltschmerz, preceded in 1995 by Symptômes De Ruine. The album opens masterfully with the sublime intro of ''Jade Eclipse'' and concludes with the ambient atmospheres of ''Omegadown''. Attempting to describe, with words alone, the splendor in between would be reductive and pointless: these are sensations that can only be felt. I only linger to mention the outro of ''Maha Pralaha'': a true surprise. Essential.

Tracks:

01 Jade Eclipse

02 Under Archons' Domain

03 Maha Pralaya

04 Downfall Bolero

05 Capitale De La Douleur

06 Colore Di Pioggia E Di Ferro

07 Inanna Incarnates

08 Omegadawn