Opera IX "The Call Of The Wood" Cassette

Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies.
Recorded & mixed at PKM Studio, Vercelli, Italy in August / September 1994.
Produced by Opera IX.

Opera IX is a cult in the extreme metal scene of Italy. Together with Mortuary Drape and Necromass they represented the best that black metal could offer ‘till the end of the 90s. Actually, the two bands from Piedmont were a bit different in style and lyrical themes (Mortuary Drape were an occult, raw black metal act with early death contaminations, while Opera IX started off like a sort of black/gothic one to develop the sound is something always more acoustical) but they contributed to the scene like few did in that period. Their albums were something mythical and they were very hard to find and even this contributed in creating a certain strange, foggy aura that embraced both the acts. The Call of the Wood is the debut album by Opera IX and still nowadays, after 14 years it is still regarded as a milestone in the Italian scene because it brought in something particular, personal and also damned fascinating. This album features some of the most occult and mysterious songs ever done in Italy, taking influences from the early doom metal acts (Italy had the great Black Hole among the others, without forgetting Death SS and Dark Quarterer), filtrated through the black metal and something concerning a very first embryonic form of folk. Don’t get me wrong, with “folk” I just mean a few overtures and nothing more because the overall atmosphere is incredibly gloom and occult.
The very first song Opera IX decided to show us is the great, unique “Alone in the Dark”. The long introduction with weird noises leads us through a dark wood at night as the violent black/death sections come in. They reminded me the very first Cradle of Filth because they mix these two genres in a very good way, and the keyboards behind give the right atmosphere. The heaviest traces can be found in the guitars riffage and its incredibly low-tuned style but we must also spend a few words for Cadaveria, maybe the very first female singer in an extreme band. This was ahead in Italy for this period. The doom moments are incredibly obscure and often they let some more instrumental moments come in to add more atmosphere. “Esteban's Promise” features the dynamic, hammering drums work of a young Flegias (later, the Necrodeath singer). Once again, the guitars are constantly between the black and death. The more atmospheric moments are always present and the keyboards contribute in a perfect way to the music because they are not invasive at all, but they only give the right touch to add more darkness. “The Call Of The Wood” features more of them, especially by he beginning and they give an incredibly good occult touch. It’s like being in a pagan celebration in the middle of a wood and this is great because this style goes on even when the other instruments come in to bring more heaviness.
On “Al Azif”, the occult, odd style of the keyboards is even more present and this perfectly clashes with the heaviness of the guitars and the animal-like growling by Cadaveria. Again, the lead lines of the guitars and the soloing are very important because they more or less follow the same style of the keyboards, passing through the dark, mysterious doom moments. The fast restarts are out of the blue and the medieval style melodies are just awesome. You cannot relax even for a moments because Opera IX are always able to maintain incredibly high levels of songwriting, passing through lots of structures and influences. The last “Sepulcro” features a long introduction made of gloomy arpeggios and the unmistakable keyboards to support everything. The slow progression gives us the idea of going inside a dark place, without lights. There are a few faster sections, like the up tempo ones but they are just short and the general style is doomy, privileging the occult aura and ending an excellent, mythical album for the black scene in Italy. Opera IX debuted with a semi-masterpiece of occult black metal and this album is highly recommended, apart from being one of the immortal milestones in my country.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...