Waltzing Mephisto

Beginning in the late '90s -- for reasons that remain unclear -- Italy unexpectedly became a hotbed for heavy metal bands delving into elements of gothic rock. Whether they were simply flirting with goth's alluring visual presence (as in the case of the very popular, female-fronted Lacuna Coil), or outright incorporating its sonic elements into various extreme metal forms, as do Hortus Animae on their new CD Waltzing Mephisto, there certainly seems to be more middle ground between the two genres than initially perceived. Their obvious shared kink for suicidal depression aside, the two styles have definitely grown closer over the years, as heavy metal's stylistic expansion has helped it shed much of its macho bravado of yesteryear, making way for goth rock's prettier, pseudo-femme façade in the process. Such contrasts have yielded many strange hybrids, but Hortus Animae may just take the cake. Essentially a symphonic black metal band with a diploma from the Marilyn Manson Fashion University; theirs is an especially strange brand of Halloween metal. Dramatic musical excursions like "Enter," "Welcome to Godless," and especially the 11-minute "A Lifetime Obscurity," utilize black metal's rasped vocals, buzz-saw guitars and blast-beat drumming as a launching pad from whence to explore dark wave and ambient music domains. Even weirder is the band's eyebrow-raising splicing of Mayhem's "Freezing Moon" with elements from Mike Oldfield's prog-rock classic "Tubular Bells" (a.k.a. the Exorcist theme) -- wow! In the end, the resulting mutations aren't always entirely convincing, but they sure as hell are entertaining; and their silly costumes aside; there's no denying Hortus Animae have got themselves a vision and a plan. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|