Wandering through the very few active metal discussion forums
left, I stumbled across Everto Signum from Portugal. The band calls its music ‘Elemental
Black Metal’, and they recently released their new EP titled “Synergy”. The
band plays the traditional black metal music, interwoven with melodic and
ambient atmospheric sounds.
The 4 track EP begins with a dark atmospheric instrumental “Cold
Inception”, building up spreading the darkness as it grows. “Stirred Ambiance”
begins with a blackened doom riff structure, before the brutal assault kicks
in. The track also has a nice industrial black metal vibe running somewhere at
the back, this great inter-mix of the blackened doom, atmospheric and industrial
metal works to the bands advantage, enhancing the overall sound and resulting
in something very original.
The title track “Elemental Synergy”, is one of the most raw
and powerful song on the record. The track features some of the best drum-work on
the album. The lead guitar melodies are just amazing, and sync well with the faster
traditional black metal riffs. The final track is a cover of Lux Ferre’s “Atrae
Materiae Monumentum”, while the original was more somber and depressive, this
is much more heavy and aggressive.
The production is not extremely top notch, but not bedroom
quality either, the sound works well for the band, with a good balance between
the drum beats, lead guitar melodies and the vocals. The bass does get suppressed
at points, but comes out in great way on the final cover.
The band has a lot of talent, and the perfect blending of
atmospheric and industrial sounds in their music showcases that perfectly. The
EP is a good place to get to know the band. I will be on a lookout, for a full
length from these guys in the future.
