Band dynamics, however strong, can usually only last so long on tour before tempers flare, the claustrophobia and hard sleeping surfaces become unbearable and everyone’s just too under showered to care about anyone’s feelings. A break is necessary for the sanity of everyone involved; those forced to interact with these musical artists, stripped from the occasional comfort of the familiar or a loved one. OvO however, have taken their relationship out on that limb, in harms way of all the odds to create what seems to be the ideal balance, if you analyze how much this minimalist extreme metal band have tour. Over 700 gigs later, they’re plan to start this project in efforts to say closer together seems to have worked after touring apart with separate acts for a while.
Having release material consistently since 2001, their latest album, Abisso, (Super Natural Cat Records), creates a consistent vibe that can be felt throughout the album. With absolutely no vocal effects, the wide range of growls, snarled and demonic shrieking keeps the listener at least interested, if not, thoroughly impressed.
Electronics twinkle and spark like a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Broken and disjointed, yet so beautiful, once glance away might leave you a vacant visual captor. Stefania Pendretti slices through electric guitar palpitations, banshee-esque in her shrill projection as Bruno Dorella drum beats progress in militaristic order, hitting strong and precise with each motion, on the first track ‘Harmonia Microcosmica’.
Venturing deeper into Abisso, ‘A Dream Within A Dream’ is a mixture of instrumentals that could have well suited a Dario Argento film. A crippling space odyssey of synthetic manipulation and haunting resonance. Layered shrieks and growling vocals roll in and over themselves, crashing out into a blood splattering spread of projectile bleed. ‘Aeneis’ maintains the noise rock ascetic with very crisp, industrial drum hits. If Melt-Banana were kidnapped, horribly tortured and mutilated in Italy (because apparently you can get away with that there, now…not) they would come out sounding a bit like OvO.
‘Harmonia Macrocosmica’ is a good example of how this band can be both disturbing and confusingly beautiful at the same time. A compliment to the first track on the album, it also shares a similar style, which is an interesting idea to present on an album I suppose, though I think they would have been more effective as an EP.
For noise-rock enthusiasts and those looking to break metal down to it’s core, Abisso is worth an ear. OvO are seriously passionate to what they do and that sort of effort speaks volumes of them as musicians, in their effort to bring their music to the people in its live form. They’re on tour till April so check them out if they’re in a city near you.
7.0/10
Christine Hager