Caronte : "Spiritvs"

This band from Italy plays a brooding style of punk that owes a great deal to the Misfits but indulges in more rock n' roll roughhousing and is less inclined toward hooky choruses. It wasn't until I was done with the album that I realized we had reviewed their "Codex Babylon" album previously, so this band is not new here. This album is better than that one.   A slight vibe brings Murder City Devils to mind, though with more guitar solos dripping from the cracks in the songs. There is more of a doomy rumble to the stomp of " Aiwass Calling." I can hear some Fields of the Nephilim in the husky grit of the vocals. He belts it out pretty well. 

They give a straight-up rocker for "Sagitarius Supernova".  It hits with a very forward charge. The most punk moment so far, they were riding the line between punk and metal on the first two songs. "Antikristos" finds his baritone mellowing into a more Leonard Cohen-like croon, though they use a similar sonic bluster as they did in the previous song. The raw style of the songwriting might be an acquired taste, somewhat similar to the early Grave Pleasures albums.  "Beyond Death' finds them in a more darkly throbbing rock n roll direction, with the vocals sung with less husk to them. 

There's the 'Twin Peaks " reference in the title "Fire Walk With Me" that makes me think things are going to have a darker noir feel, but instead they work over a doomy wall of guitar clanging like a bell at you. The seething pulse is in the sonic zip code of Urfaust, which I can appreciate, and the vocals are buried in a cavernous reverb. I read a review where they were asking why these guys were not as big as Ghost, and the answer to such a naive question lies in the production and lack of poppy vocal hooks. They are also jamming this one out into more of a drone.  The last song is more rock n roll but does not do a great deal for me. I already have the Devil's Blood if I want that sort of thing, I will give this one an 8.5, I like the souindd of what they are doing, and that they are dark, but they could use some more polished songwriting as vibes only take things so far, but the vibes they have are fun. 

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