Veratum - Mondi Sospesi

Formed seven years ago in their hometown of Bergamo, Veratum are a quartet and have released a demo, their first album Sentieri Dimenticati released in 2012, and this year with Mondi Sospesi on the Beyond Productions label. This is my first time listening to the band’s music and again I’ll admit this, I’m not a huge Black and Death Metal fan, but Veratum have really brought the elements of Symphonic Black Metal with an orchestral vibe on here.

It starts off with a ominous timpani militant intro in the style of Gustav Holst’s Planets suite and then it becomes a heavy intro between guitar riffs and drums that is in the style of an epic and dramatic score before kicking off into a high maximum level gear with the growling and death vocals. And once the vocals hit, you know that something intense and ferocious is about to happen.

There are eight compositions on Mondi Sospesi and each of the tracks are blistering heavy black metal with a rapid beat between the guitar lines and the drum beats that go almost like a machine gun reigning bullets out of nowhere that sets the tempo to a higher pace. At times there are some clean vocals in there and not to mention a Bass solo thrown in that is unexpected that made my jaw drop to the floor.

The combinations between Symphonic, Black, and Death Metal, are a twisted combination. But all of a sudden, somehow, it works strangely enough to give it that pummeling edge of a sword ready to go into full speed. The solos themselves are at an increasing measure followed by a bit of the spoken dialogue that’s on the album. Not to mention bits of the synths going in an ambient/atmospheric sound.

Mondi Sospesi almost sounds like a score to an action-packed epic horror film that would have given 300 a chance to bow down to a terrifying movie and Veratum themselves would have given it the edge of your seat to moviegoers on being terrified and wowed in excitement for a headbangers galore! Veratum are an amazing band to come out this year to the sounds of Symphonic Black Metal and if you are ready for the soundtrack inside your head, this is the album worth checking out.