Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Ponte del Diavolo - Fire Blades From the Tomb (2024)
A successful discovery from this month’s The Fallen playlist, Ponte del Diavolo grabbed my attention with the strong and commanding intro to the featured track, Covenant. With their dark wave style, female vocals and their Messa-esque tones I was intrigued more or less from the off. Hailing from Italy and seemingly some sort of supergroup (albeit from three bands I have never heard of), the band like to incorporate elements of black metal into their sound as well. Whilst Covenant is most definitely the strongest track on their seven track, Season of Mist debut release, there is still a lot to enjoy overall for the patient listener.
First off, the instruments that are used go beyond simple drum, guitar, bass and vocals. Synthesisers, a theremin and a clarinet all make an appearance on different tracks and each inclusion adds dimension to the album. There is mention on the internet that the band deploys two bassists but as far as I can see this was only on their debut EP Mystery of Mystery back in 2020 so there’s definitely only one bassist present for Fire Blades From the Tomb. There is also a cool post-punk vibe to the record as well and Elba del Diavolo’s voice lends itself perfectly to this style of music. Those black elements are sparse yet effective when they are engaged and the album is underpinned in the main by a solid group performance of occult doom metal.
It is not without flaws as a record however. The Nick Cave cover is done well, but I have no time for anything Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have ever done so it is an unfortunate choice in terms of my review. Whilst most tracks have memorability, there are elements of filler where this memorability is for the wrong reasons. Repetitive lyrics and clumsy arrangements can plague the likes of Nocturnal Veil for example and I cannot honestly remember anything about Zero other than some guest male vocals. This is still a strong debut though and one that will get the band further notoriety I am sure with SoM behind them now. Definitely one to watch.