Adveniat Hiems, which translates to ‘let winter come’ in Latin, hail from Milan. I guess that is not so far from the wild forests they evoke with their music, with the Alps being merely an hour away from the bustling metropolitan inferno that is the capital of industrial Northern Italy.
Drawing their inspiration from North European mythology and folklore (who doesn’t!), this young band (two lads and a girl) quotes Norwegian and Symphonic Black Metal as their main influences. Their 2009 debut, an EP consisting of 5 cuts released on Ekleipsi, shows no trace of symphonic grandeur, but it certainly displays the characteristic coldness and directness of their Norwegian peers. In fact, my guess is that these guys must work in a morgue, as their tracks are freezing-cold!
The underproduced sound is incredibly stark but atmospheric enough to captivate. I happen to like this kind of rough recording, so I have no problem with the uneven levels and the fuzziness throughout (that’s one of the charms of old-school Black Metal, isn’t it?). I guess my initial problem was adjusting to the strange vocals, but I eventually ‘warmed’ to them, as they sometimes remind me, bizarrely, of the early recordings of Joy Division with Ian Curtis: yes, bloody cold and utterly misanthropic.
It is perfect music for the torrid summers we are all to expect in the coming years then! So stick to your razor-blade icicles, I like it…
