Dark Quarterer - The Etruscan Prophecy (1988)^{Release ID: 3614}

I only recently took my first steps into the expansive world of Italian heavy metallers Dark Quarterer through their 1987 self-titled debut album & found myself quite enjoying it too. The album was very consistent & offered a refreshingly organic timbre that was built on the sounds of 1970’s heavy metal & progressive rock. The main issue was the very raw production job which didn’t do much to highlight the nuances but admittedly gave Dark Quarterer an extra layer of underground street credibility. I wouldn’t say that the album left me completely convinced but it certainly offered enough potential to see me wondering how the trio had fared with subsequent releases so here we find me turning to Dark Quarterer’s sophomore album from the following year in “The Etruscan Prophecy”.

The first thing you’ll notice about this album is the improved production job. The guitars are much more up-front which is definitely an advantage for this ol’ axe-slinger. It gives the inventiveness of guitarist Fulberto Serena a much better platform through which to engage with his audience & is the main advantage “The Etruscan Prophecy” has over the self-titled album. Once again we see a prog rock-infused sound but the guitar tone is a touch more metal than before. Also like the debut, this is a very consistent record with no obvious duds however epically-inclined front man Gianni Nepi does his best to ruin the party on a few occasions with some badly out of key histrionics, particularly on the title track which does well to recover off the back of some excellent instrumental contributions. The clear highlight comes from “Devil Stroke” which is an especially good example of Dark Quarterer’s strengths. The two short acoustic/classical interludes are well executed & quite entertaining too.

As with the debut, I’ve found “The Etruscan Prophecy” to be a fairly rewarding experience overall without it ever threatening to become a regular feature in my future listening habits. In fact, I tend to slightly favour it over “Dark Quarterer” & feel that fans of the more epic & progressive end of the heavy metal spectrum might suffer from the odd drool. US power metal legends Manilla Road, Italian heavy metallers Vultures Vengeance & NWOBHM outfit Omega are a pretty good guide to what you should expect.